GST on dairy products and machinery

The decision of the GST Board at its 47th meeting held last week in Chandigarh to impose a 5% GST on dairy products such as “pre-packaged and pre-labelled curds, lassi and buttermilk” and d Raising the GST on dairy and milking machines from 12% to 18% has drawn criticism from farmers’ organizations and dairy cooperatives. Various cooperatives are waiting for notification from the Center to take the next step, while farmers fear that the decision will lead to an increase in the price of by-products.

RS Sodhi, Managing Director of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd (GCMMF) (Amul) said they are awaiting the notification. “We have no clarity at the moment. We have seen newspaper reports that GST will be levied on curds and buttermilk. We are awaiting notification,” he said, adding that prices for two products are likely to increase if the GST is imposed on them.

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The increase in the GST on dairy machines and milking machines will also have a direct impact on the price of milk. The Pradeshik Cooperative Dairy Federation (PCDF) of Uttar Pradesh, the largest milk producing state in the country, will also meet soon to assess the impact of GST on by-products and machinery.

“The impact of this will be felt on consumers as prices go up. The impact needs to be assessed. We will consult with all farmers unions in the district and then approach the government,” the PCDF chief executive said. , Tapesh Yadav.

All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) leader of western Uttar Pradesh, DP Singh, said the decision would directly affect farmers. “There are many farmers who make curd and buttermilk at home and sell it in their neighborhood. Such taxation will affect their livelihood,” Singh said. Shamli Farmer Leader Jitender Singh Hudda said the decision to increase GST on milking machines will impact the mechanization of milking processes. “This will further increase the cost of inputs. The government should also think about people’s nutritional needs,” Hudda said.

AIKS leaders Hannan Mollah and Ashok Dhawale said in a statement that the move would negatively affect more than nine million Indian households dependent on the dairy sector for their livelihoods and millions of poor consumers who depend on milk and its subs. -products for their nutrition. “The livelihoods of dairy farmers will be at risk and the decision to impose a high GST on dairy machinery will hit smaller players and especially the co-operative sector. The BJP government is crushing states’ rights and we are seeing a centralization of political authority and capital,” they said.

AIKS said the GST regime over the past five years has led to tax policies that favor the class interests of finance and monopolies at the expense of poor peasants and small entrepreneurs. “Recent reports on the impact of the GST regime in the foundry industry of Howrah and the textile industry of Surat have clearly demonstrated a consolidation of large players at the expense of medium, small and marginal players at different levels of the chains. valuable. The small and medium players had to either leave the company or merge with the bigger players. There are several similar examples in different parts of the country where there has been the consolidation of big players and the ruin of small players,” Mullah and Dhawale said and urged the Center to immediately withdraw the recommendations of the GST Council.

AIKS also called on dairy farmers across the country to demonstrate by uniting small entrepreneurs and the cooperative sector.