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NDA ministers seek GST relief for religious bodies

Naqvi bats for Waqf properties; Harsimrat seeks exemption for gurdwaras

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Traders shout slogans during a protest against the GST in Jammu
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Two central ministers want exemption for two religious bodies under the Goods and Services Tax (GST), in first such voices to emerge from within the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), after it rolled out the new tax regime with much fanfare on Friday midnight.

BJP leader and Minorities Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi has promised to seek tax relief for Waqf properties, which are mostly rented or leased out for religious, educational or charitable purposes.

Akali Dal leader and Minister of Food Processing Industries Harsimrat Kaur has already asked for exemption for purchases related to langar (community kitchen) and other services to gurdwaras. The Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) has said that GST will mean an additional annual burden of Rs 10 crore on gurdwaras. SGPC manages the security, financial, maintenance, besides archaeological and religious aspects of gurdwaras.

Under the new law, land leasing, renting of commercial properties and purchase of under-construction housing projects will attract GST.

Many Waqf boards, which are autonomous bodies under state governments, had approached Naqvi for relief.

Their contention is that most of them are already cash strapped, and are unable to pay salaries and emoluments to their staff. They said many of the properties are encroached, and they would be unable to shoulder further burden.

At a conference of the Central Wakf Council, Naqvi assured board representatives that the issue will be taken up with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, as Waqfs are endowments and not commercial properties.

Kaur on Sunday forwarded a letter of SGPC President Prof Kirpal Singh Badungar to Jaitley, seeking exemption from GST for langar and other gurdwara services.

She asked Jaitley to favourably consider exempting community and religious services. The letter reminds Jaitely of the fact that he contested the 2014 Lok Sabha election from Amritsar where Sri Harmandir Sahib or the Golden Temple runs the world's largest kitchen, offering three meals throughout the year to lakhs of people, donations for which comes from the humble offerings of devotees.

"Even in the erstwhile VAT regime, langar purchases have never been subjected to taxation. The government of Punjab has exempted langar purchases at Harmandir Sahib, Sri Kesgar Sahib, Anandpur Sahib, Takhat Damdama Sahib and Talwandi Sabo Gurdwaras from payment of VAT. Such exemptions are not available from July 1, 2017," the letter says.

The letter reminds the Finance Minister that even under the new GST regime, exemptions have been granted to various institutions and businesses. "Presently procurement of items like desi ghee, sugar and pulses by SGPC runs into roughly Rs 75 crore annually, which will now be under the GST bracket of 5 to 18 per cent, thus increasing the financial burden by Rs 10 crore on gurdwaras," the letter adds.

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