Agriculture cess on luxury good under GST
A ministerial panel on 11.07.2017 mooted GST reduction on ethanol from 18 per cent to 12 per cent but did not favour imposing cess on sugar as arrears to cane farmers are already declining. The GoM recommendations would be placed before the GST Council in the next meeting on July 21, 2018
Sugar Cess under GST
The Group of Ministers, headed by Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, will also wait for Attorney General’s opinion before taking a view on whether cess can be levied at all under the current Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, according to officials.
The Union Cabinet had last month cleared a bailout package of over Rs 8,000 crore for the sugar industry to help the cash-starved mills to clear dues to farmers. It had also fixed a MSP of Rs 29 a kg.
With regard to the general issue of levying cess, an official in the GST Council said that it had earlier sought AG’s opinion on its legality keeping in mind the architecture of the GST which subsumed all cess, surcharge, taxes and other levies.
AG, who is government’s top lawyer, has not yet given his opinion because a case with regard to cess under GST is pending in the Supreme Court.
Agriculture cess on luxury good under GST
Prior to GST roll out on July 1, 2017, a cess was levied and collected under the Sugar Cess Act, 1982, as duty of excise for the purpose of the Sugar Development Fund.
Through Taxation Laws Amendment Act, 2017 various cesses, including sugar cess, were abolished with effect from July 1, 2017.
Background of GST Ministerial panel
The GST Council in its last meeting in May 2018 had constituted the GoM to look into the food ministry’s proposal of imposition of cess of up to Rs 3 per kg on supply of sugar over and above 5 per cent GST rate.
The proceeds from the levy, estimated at Rs 6,700 crore, would flow into a separate fund to be utilised for interventions in the sugar sector and for cane farmers.
Briefing reporters after the GoM meeting today, Sarma said that after fixing the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for sugar, at Rs 29 a kg, the arrears due to cane farmers have come down by Rs 5,000 crore to Rs 18,000 crore.
GST on ethanol
It would recommend to the GST Council a reduction in the rate on ethanol from 18 per cent, Sarma said.
Officials said meanwhile that the panel is likely to recommend lowering GST rate on ethanol to 12 per cent GST, though food ministry had been batting for 5 per cent rate.