FM Nirmala Sitharaman explains the GST rates

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Tuesday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman used Twitter to explain the GST Council’s 47th meeting’s decisions. The council suggested rethinking the strategy for applying GST to a list of specific food items, such as flour, pulses, and cereals.

Is this the first time such food articles are being taxed? No. States were collecting significant revenue from foodgrain in the pre-GST regime. Punjab alone collected more Rs 2,000 cr on food grain by way of purchase tax. UP collected Rs 700 cr. (2/14) pic.twitter.com/T5G6FZ6lv5
— Nirmala Sitharaman (@nsitharaman) July 19, 2022

The FM emphasised that certain items, such as pulses/daal, wheat, rye, oats, maize, rice, aatta/flour, suji/rawa, besan, puffed rice, and curd/lassi, will not be subject to GST when sold loose and unpackaged or unlabeled.

In a tweet, Sitharaman noted that food products have previously been taxed and that during the pre-GST era, foodgrain was a significant source of revenue for the states. “By way of purchase tax, Punjab alone brought in more than Rs 2,000 crore on food grains. UP received Rs. 700 billion, “She spoke.

To conclude: this decision was a much-needed one to curb tax leakage. It was considered at various levels including by officers, the Group of Ministers, and was finally recommended by the GST Council with the complete consensus of all members. (14/14)
— Nirmala Sitharaman (@nsitharaman) July 19, 2022