Kolkata: GST on unbranded, packed items to hit home budget – Times of India

KOLKATA: Several household items will cost more from Monday with the hike in goods and service tax rates by the GST council headed by Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Kolkatans will have to pay extra to buy day-to-day items, like curd, lassi, buttermilk, paneer, wheat and rice that are pre-packaged and labelled, further stretching their kitchen budget. These products will attract a GST of 5% from Monday.
General secretary of the Posta Bazar Merchants’ Association Biswanath Agarwal said they are yet to see a government circular regarding that. “There is no clarity regarding levying GST on packaged atta. We have opposed the move by the government. We will get to know about the process on Monday,” Agarwal said.

However, any agri or dairy product, if sold loose or packed in front of customers, will continue to be exempt from GST. Earlier, only branded packaged rice was under the purview of GST. Now, all unbranded, pre-packaged rice, rice flour, and wheat flour will attract GST.
Rashmi Kyal, who owns Sanwariya, a grocery shop on Jessore Road, said, “We don’t keep unbranded wheat. So, the products we get are charged GST by the supplier. I am not aware of any circular to that effect. Moreover, I have no clarity on the process of tracking the sale of unbranded, pre-packaged items.”
The GST is a single, indirect tax levied by the central government. It was introduced on July 1, 2017, and states were assured of compensation for the revenue loss till June 2022, arising on account of the GST rollout.
GST officials on Sunday said branded food products, like atta, were already attracting GST. The unbranded products were, however, not. “A shop owner or an online shop might have been selling pre-packed sealed atta to a consumer. Since the product was not branded, it was not attracting GST. It will now come under the GST net,” said an official with the central excise.
Products like paneer, curd, lassi and buttermilk will also attract 5% GST according to the government notification, as will puffed rice or muri, beaten rice or chira, parched rice or khoi, sugar-coated parched rice or murki, and rice flour, which is often used in many Bengali households.
Most of the puffed and beaten rice sold in Bengal’s market comes in sealed, unbranded packets. Rice flour is also sold in sealed and unbranded packets.