SAD to meet Jaitley to request for GST exemption for langar purchases

Chandigarh, Jul 18 : Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal today said the MPs and MLAs of his party would meet Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley soon and request for exemption to SGPC from paying GST on ‘langar’ purchases even as it asked the Punjab Government to fulfill its responsibility by getting the exemption done through the GST Council. In a statement here, the SAD president said, "We are duty- bound to convey the wishes of lakhs of devotees on this issue to the Centre." "However, what needs to be understood is that it is the Congress Government which has to get this exemption passed in the GST Council. Under the new GST regime, the sStates have a weightage of 66 per cent to influence all decisions in the GST Council vis-a-vis the Centre which has a weightage of only 33 per cent," he said. Mr Badal said though Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has written to the Union Finance Minister and sought exemption for the SGPC, it would be better if he directed his Finance Minister Manpreet Badal to get this done in the GST Council. "The Council allows each state to put forward its demands for grant of relief on specific items. However, relief can only be granted if the appropriate case is put up before the Council, which has not happened yet in the case of granting exemption for langar’ items," he added. Stating that the issue of extending exemption to the SGPC was being raised consistently by the SGPC since the last one fortnight, Mr Badal said Manpreet Badal should have filed a representation before the GST Council till now. Mr Badal said if Manpreet Badal was serious about siding with the Sikh community he should ask the GST Council to forfeit the state share in the GST immediately as a first step. UNI