Rice millers seek removal of 5% GST on packed rice

The Federation of All India Rice Millers Association has appealed to the government to remove the 5% GST on prepacked and pre labelled rice up to 25 kg.

In a memorandum submitted to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday in Chennai, the association said that the common man purchases rice only as one kg, five kg, 10 kg or 25 kg packets. These attract 5% tax. However, institutions purchase rice in bulk and there is no GST for it, the federation said.

Hence, more than 50% of retail consumers buy unpacked rice.

The association also said rice bran, which goes to solvent extraction plants, also attract 5 % GST. The rice mills are all MSMEs and the tax should be only for the solvent extraction plants, the Federation said.

It also sought clarity on the packet sizes, combo packets and labelling that the rice millers should follow when they sell the rice.

This article has been republished from The Hindu.