GST council cuts taxes on millet flour, molasses. Deets inside

Digital Desk: The GST Council on Saturday announced the decision to reduce molasses taxes from 28% to 5%. Nirmala Sitharaman, the Union Finance Minister, claimed that the action will "benefit sugarcane farmers" and reduce the price of cow feed. The council also decided to exempt alcohol for human consumption from the levy.

The GST on flour containing 70% millets would now be zero percent if sold loose and five percent if sold pre-packaged and marked, according to Sitharaman's further announcement.

Sitharaman claimed that the GST reduction on molasses will enable quick payment of sugarcane farmers' debts because "more money will be left in the hands of mills or whoever" in a news conference following the 52nd GST Council Meeting. "The council and we all feel that it will also lead to a reduction in the cost of manufacturing of cattle feed, which will be a major development," she stated.

The GST Council has "ceded that right" to the states, according to Sitharaman, despite the Allahabad High Court's 2021 ruling that the states no longer have the legal authority to tax ENA. "The states are free to tax it if they want. The states are free to decide if they choose to withdraw from it. Despite having the legal authority to do so, the GST Council is not deciding to tax it," the minister added.

Sitharaman discussed Atishi's concern about stifling a "sunrise industry" when asked about Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Delhi Finance Minister Atishi addressing the issue of tax evasion warnings delivered to online gaming companies. Atishi, according to Sitharaman, stressed that the decision will "affect a young and youthful industry, which has so many prospects. So, that was the line taken by the Delhi minister," she said, adding that the GST Council "heard her (Atishi)".

Atishi promised to ask for the revocation of tax evasion notices worth Rs 1.5 lakh crore sent to online gaming companies earlier in the day, asserting that this will put an end to them.