Raising the voice for the leather and plantation industry, Commerce and industry ministry has asked the GST council to keep the labour intensive sectors like leather and plantation completely out of the tax block or put them at least at a low tax rate of around five per cent under the proposed goods and services tax (GST) since it has the potential for labour absorption and export growth.
The Ministry put similar demand of lower GST rate for cement sector as taxation is very high currently in this sector which plays an important role in national infrastructure building and boosting the national housing scheme for the poor. The ministry also sought the lowest slab for the services sectors that earn foreign exchange such as tourism, travel, hospitality and health. It asked for a cut in the import duty for gold too, as it is a critical raw material for the gems and jewellery sector.
To ensure that working capital of exporters do not get blocked, the Commerce Ministry has asked for exemption for those who import raw material and machinery duty-free rather than compensating them with refunds at a later stage. For Special Economic Zones, the Commerce Ministry has sought exemption from Integrated GST (IGST) imposition on movement of goods from an SEZ to another in a different State.
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