Farm union wants GST on apple packaging material waived

Shimla, November 22

Sanyukt Kisan Manch convener Harish Chauhan has urged Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to waive off GST on apple packaging material during a virtual pre-Budget consultation organised by the Ministry of Finance today. He was chosen as the state representative for a meeting of the stakehodlers in ‘Agriculture and Agro Processing Industry’.

“For any industrial product, the GST is passed on to the consumer. It’s not so in the case of agriculture products. The grower has to bear the entire burden. So, I requested the Finance Minister to waive off the GST completely from apple packaging material,” said Chauhan.

Also, the apple stakeholders, including from Kashmir, also urged the Finance Minister to check the arrival of under-invoiced Iranian apple coming through illegal routes. “Not only the government is losing on import duty but also it’s killing the domestic produce,” said Chauhan, adding that the increase in import duty would help in this regard.