GST: GST imposed on food products to prevent tax evasion, government bid - some states had demanded it

Defending the decision to levy GST on packaged goods and food items, Revenue Secretary Tarun Bajaj said that this step has been taken to check tax evasion on these products. Some states also demanded it. He said, the decision to impose GST on packaged food items from July 18, 2022, is not of the Central Government but the GST Council. The decision in this regard was taken by the fitment committee which suggested the GST rates. Apart from the Center, the committee consists of officers from the states as well.

Bajaj said, before GST, these items were taxed in many states. This practice was envisaged to continue with the introduction of GST in July 2017. But, when rules and circulars came to the fore, this tax was levied on branded products.

States had complained of tax evasion

As per the rules, pre-packaged goods will not attract GST if brands give up actionable claims. Taking advantage of this, many famous brands started selling these items in their brand name packets. But, as there was no actionable claim on it, they were not attracting 5 percent GST. Some states had complained of such tax evasion. However, he did not give the names of these states.

Now the complaints of income taxpayers will be resolved soon

Income taxpayers will no longer have to wait long for the resolution of their grievances. Nitin Gupta, the new chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), said that speedy resolution of complaints is the priority of the Income Tax Department. For this, he will be in touch with the taxpayers and other stakeholders.

On Income Tax Day on Sunday, he said, there has been a record collection of 14.09 lakh crores in 2021-22. The harmonization of policies and procedures has reduced the compliance burden on the taxpayers, thereby achieving this tax collection figure. We cannot sit quietly on this achievement. You have to work hard to keep up the pace.

Changes in policies will bring transparency

The new chairman said, in a few years, there has been a vast change in various sectors of the economy. The use of digital has increased. New classes of business have been created and new asset classes have been created. Because of these changes, the department has redesigned its policies and procedures. This will bring more transparency to the work.

Also Read: 5% GST: Was this decision taken with the consent of the states? How is the decision of imposing a tax on the GST Council