He said items such as chicken, unbranded atta, maida would have no tax, while the tax on soaps, toothpaste and hair oils will come down by 12%. For instance, before GST was rolled out, chicken carried a value-added tax (VAT) of 14.5%, Kerala being the only state to levy VAT on broiler chicken and poultry feed. The government found out that retailers in Kerala, hand in glove with big poultry traders from Tamil Nadu, created an artificial shortage in the market and pushed up the price. But the finance minister called a meeting of traders under Kerala Poultry Farm and Traders Association and solved the issue, with the protesters finally agreeing to toe the government line. They should not let a section of traders extract an exorbitant profit under the pretext of GST and hijack the new regime.

Source: dna July 12, 2017 02:15 UTC