Amid the strong resentment among the traders over the GST Council’s decision to levy 5 per cent GST on pre-packed and pre-labelled foodgrains, curd, butter milk etc., the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has appealed to the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Finance Ministers of the States to withdrew the decision.

The trade leaders of various bodies across the country are in talks to have a countrywide joint strategy on the issue. B C Bhartia, National President of CAIT and Praveen Khandelwal, Secretary General, while condemning the decision,said it is for the first time in India that the State Governments and the Central Government in the GST Council have planned to levy tax on pre-packed and pre-labelled food grain which will have a negative impact not only the trade but also on the agriculture sector.

However, CAIT said, the decision will benefit big corporate houses at the cost of small manufacturers and traders.

The recent decision of the GST Council to levy 5 per cent GST on pre-packed and pre-labelled foodgrains, curd, butter milk etc. has come under severe criticism of the business community and the foodgrain associations and APMC markets.

The traders are planning to hold strong demonstrations in every State and a possibility of Bharat Bandh in foodgrain trade can not be ruled out.

Bhartia and Khandelwal said that the rationale behind the opposition is that the both Central & State Governments are collecting as high as 28 per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST) on certain commodities to compensate for revenue losses in lieu of keeping agriculture produce out of the GST regime. If the GST Council wishes to impose tax on non-branded pulses and other agriculture commodities, the council has to forgo the 28 per cent GST tax slab.

So far state level meetings have been held in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and in the next week, the trade leaders

will meet in West Bengal, Kerala, Gujarat, North East States, Punjab, Haryana, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana etc.