In a bid to promote healthy dietary choices, the 52nd Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, during a meeting on Saturday, reduced the tax on millet flour food preparations, said reports.
The GST has been reduced from 18 per cent to 5 per cent, as per a decision by the council, reported ANI News citing sources. The council is chaired by the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and state finance ministers.
In a tribute to M.S. Swaminathan that appeared in several newspapers on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the late scientist who had encouraged discourse around millets since the 1990s. Lauding his vision, the PM said the world is today talking about millets as super foods.
With the latest decision, the government hopes that more Indians will add millets, known for nutritional benefits, to their diets. The Food and Agriculture Organization is celebrating 2023 as the International Year of Millets to spread awareness about health benefits of the cereal, based on a proposal by India.
The GST fitment committee had earlier proposed to reduce tax on millet flour in powder form, containing at least 70 per cent millets by weight. Though initial reports suggested that the council might decide on “zero tax”, the decision taken during the Saturday meeting pinned the new tax rate at 5 per cent, according to sources.
Molasses, which a byproduct of sugar production and used to make extra neutral alcohol and ethanol, is also expected to get the tax slashed from 28 per cent to 5 per cent.
