Centre to refund GST charged on langar items

THE GST WILL BE REFUNDED UNDER A NEW SCHEME ‘SEWA BHOJ YOJANA’, HAVING A TOTAL OUTLAY OF ₹325 CRORE ANNUALLY

CHANDIGARH: The Union government has decided to refund its share of Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) and Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) charged on the purchase of raw food items by charitable religious institutions for distributing free meals (langar) to the public.

The GST will be refunded under a new scheme “Sewa Bhoj Yojana”, having a total outlay of ₹325 crore annually.

The scheme has been announced after continuous pressure exerted on the Centre by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) and the Shriomani Akali Dal (SAD), an ally of the ruling NDA, that raw food material being purchased for langars served at gurdwaras, particularly at the Golden Temple, which has the world’s largest community kitchen, be exempted from the GST.

The GST is not levied on food served in the langar, but on the purchase of raw material used to prepare food.

The items include sugar, ghee, dry fruits, tea and LPG. From July 1, 2017, to January 31, 2018, the SGPC that manages the Golden Temple has paid over ₹2 crore in the GST on langar items. Around 60,000 devotees partake of langar at the Golden Temple daily.

The SGPC and the Akali Dal have welcomed the Centre’s decision. Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh also hailed the Union government’s decision.

“Though the move fell short of complete GST waiver, it would relieve the SGPC of the financial burden. It’s better late than never,” said the CM

Earlier in March, Amarinder announced waiver of the state government’s 50% share in the GST on langar at the Golden Temple, Durgiana Temple, Bhagwan Valmiki Tirath and key shrines of the other communities.

Subsequent to the state government’s decision, the Congress demanded resignation of Akali Dal leader and Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal from the Union cabinet for her “failure” to get GST waiver on langar items. She later took up the matter with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

AMRITSAR: The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on Friday welcomed the Centre’s move to refund its share of Goods and Service Tax (GST) on purchase of food items for langar and appreciated the efforts made by the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) to persuade the Union government in this regard.

SGPC president Gobind Singh Longowal said the gurdwara body and the SAD had been making persistent efforts to get a GST waiver. “The Centre’s decision is result of these efforts,” he said while thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Appreciating the Badal family in this regard, he offered special thanks to former Punjab CM and SAD patron Parkash Singh Badal, party president Sukhbir Singh Badal and Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal for taking up the issue with authorities concerned. In a statement issued here, Longowal said the Centre’s move will prove to be a big financial help for the SGPC and other religious bodies. Notably, the Punjab government has already waived off its share of GST on the purchase of langar items.

SGPC spokesperson Diljit Singh Bedi said Rs 3.2 crore has so far been paid as GST on purchase of items for the Golden Temple langar. “The government should also decide to return the amount.”

HARSIMRAT BLAMES MANPREET FOR DELAY

Meanwhile, Harsimrat Kaur Badal hailed the move as historic and thanked the central government for making the announcement. In a statement issued in Bathinda, she, however, blamed Punjab finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal for the delay in Centre’s decision, saying Manpreet never took up the matter in the GST Council meetings.

AUJLA QUESTIONS SAD FOR TAKING CREDIT

Welcoming the Centre’s decision, Amritsar MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla questioned the SAD leadership for taking credit for it.

Aujla, who has also been raising the issue in Parliament, alleged that Harsimrat had threatened to resign as Union minister when she came to know that the Centre’s policy in this regard is about to be announced.

We thank PM Modi as the Centre’s move will prove to be a big financial help for the SGPC and other religious bodies. GOBIND SINGH LONGOWAL, SGPC president