No relief on items used to prepare langar: SGPC writes another letter to Arun Jaitley

Disappointed over the decision of the Union finance ministry to impose Goods and Service Tax (GST) on the purchase of basic items used to prepare langar, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has written a fresh letter to finance minister Arun Jaitley to seek exemption.

“Nothing has been done by the government and that’s why we have written again to the FM. Though the material used to prepare ‘parsad’ will be exempted from GST, there is no relief on items used to prepare langar at the Golden Temple,” said SGPC chief secretary Harcharan Singh while talking to HT.

He added, “If we understand what they mean, now GST will also be imposed on ‘parsad’ bought by a devotee to offer at the shrine. This will be 18%.”

He said, “SGPC is dismayed and disappointed over the entire issue. SGPC president Kirpal Singh Badungar has now given a fresh representation to the FM. It seems nothing has been done in response to our earlier representation.”

He said, “Till June 30, we were exempted of VAT by the state government on purchase of major items used in preparation of langar such as sugar, ghee, pulses etc, but now they all come under the ambit of the GST, which will put an extra burden of Rs 10 crore on the SGPC.”

The chief secretary said the finance ministry has not responded to its earlier request of exempting langar purchase from GST, but just issued a press release.

He said exemption of GST on langar purchases was a major demand by the SGPC, but nothing has been done in that direction. The SGPC has requested that since it works on health services, education and many other noble causes, it be exempted from the GST, he added.

Badungar has demanded that the purchase of all langar items be exempted from the GST.

In his letter, Badungar stated that if exemption is not given, it will be really impossible for the SGPC to carry out all the services being rendered by it.