Panel suggests
items, services to be exempted from GST
The working group formed
by the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers
has suggested that 22 items including paddy rice, wheat,
atta, pulses, coarse grains, meat, fish, unprocessed
vegetable/ fruits, salt, prasadam, bhog or mahabhogya by
religious institutions, books and periodicals should be
kept under the exempt list for the Goods and Services
Tax (GST).
Further, services like those provided by the government
and other statutory bodies as part of their sovereign functions, postal
services, ambulance services provided by authorised persons for transport of
sick persons, educational services by the Center, states or local bodies,
healthcare provided by the Centre, states or local bodies, exemptions required
under international agreements etc should be exempted from the new indirect tax,
the working group has suggested.
However, the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers (ECSFM), though
formed the working group months ago for discussing issues regarding the exempt
list of commodities and services, has still not deliberated upon the report,
which was submitted to them many months ago, even though the states have been
demanding discussions on them.
This is one among several other hurdles that is contributing hugely to derailing
the scheduled implementation of the GST by April 1, 2010.
“These are the things which are delaying the entire process. The report, which
has clearly laid down the list of exemptions, has not even been taken up in the
meetings so far even though it was submitted long back. Now, we even have the
Thirteenth Finance Commission’s task force report which talks about a list of
exemptions,” official sources told The Indian Express.
Since the report submitted has not been discussed, there is no clarity within
the empowered committee as to what all should be included in the exempt list and
due to this the Centre is not able to proceed further, the sources added.
The working group was constituted in January this year to recommend on the rules
and principles of taxing the transactions of services including inter-state
services, the goods and services that should be kept in the exempted list, and
finalisation of the model suggested for inter-state movement of goods including
stock transfers.
Regarding the services, the views of the working group seem to be in congruence
with the report released by the Task Force on GST Thirteenth Finance Commission.
