Industry & Economy
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Food & Dairy Products
Biscuit makers seek cut in VAT
Our Bureau
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Industry puts off 15% price hike
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Hyderabad
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Sept. 4
Seeking a level playing field for the biscuit manufacturers on a par with other players in the food processing industry, the Biscuit Manufacturers Association (BMA) has urged the Government to reduce the VAT of 12.5 per cent charged on the industry to 4 per cent and also to completely do away with the excise duty of 8 per cent that is currently being levied.
The BMA President, Ms Maria Iyer, told newspersons here recently that it was highly unfair to levy 8 per cent excise duty on biscuits while other items such as bread, potato chips, cheese, pasta and namkeens were completely exempted from excise duty.
Similarly, the biscuit industry is being charged a VAT of 12.5 per cent, while there is no VAT levied on bread. In the case of popular potato chips and ordinary potato chips, VAT is 4 per cent only.
Excise Duty
Finding it difficult to subscribe to the Government's argument that the excise duty was waived and VAT was reduced on those food processing segments that were contributing to the agricultural sector, Ms Iyer said biscuit manufacturing sector was contributing highest to the agriculture sector at around Rs 3,555 crore per annum by purchasing wheat flour, sugar and edible oil.
She said biscuits, the poor men's food, were being taxed heavily while total excise exemption was extended to rich men's consumables such as cheese, condensed milk, ice cream, numkeens, pasta, potato chips, ready to eat dosa/ idli mixes, processed meat, fish and poultry products.
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