Inclusion Of Pre-packed And Labelled Foodgrain Will Damage Small Business: CAIT

Amid the GST Council's decision to bring all types of pre-packed and pre-labelled foodgrains and other items under the GST tax slab of 5 per cent, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) on Monday said that the move will cause a loss of business to food grain traders in India. 

The trade body claimed that there is anger and outrage among the foodgrains traders of the country due to this move by the GST Council. 

CAIT also said that this decision will empower big brands to capture the market at the cost of small manufacturers and traders. Special food items, cereals, etc., which were not branded till now, were exempted from GST. 

With this decision of the council, pre-packaged and pre-labelled retail packs including pre-packaged, pre-labelled curd, and buttermilk will now attract GST tax and will cause huge damage to the business of food grains traders in more than 6,500-grain markets across the country, it said

While talking to reporters, BC Bhartia, National President  and Praveen Khandelwal, Secretary-General, CAIT said, "To protest against this decision of the GST Council, the traders' delegation will meet Finance Ministers of all the states of the country and will hand over a memorandum to them."

Foodgrain trade associations all over the country are in touch with each other and a state-level conference of traders will be organised, the trade body claimed. 

Both trade leaders questioned the rationale of keeping these items in the 5 per cent tax bracket and said, "All the big companies in the country are serving only 15 per cent of the population comprising upper class and upper-middle class, whereas small manufacturers and traders are serving 85 per cent of the country's population."

This decision of the government will not only increase the burden of compliance and its cost to the traders but on the other hand, the basic goods of necessity will also become expensive, they said.