The Union government on Tuesday said free food supplied at community kitchens run by religious institutions has been kept outside the ambit of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). Also, ‘prasad’ distributed by places of worship like temples, gurdwaras, mosques, churches and dargahs will not attract any tax. Issuing a clarification on media reports that suggested that the GST would be levied on free food supplied in ‘anna kshetras’ (food areas) by religious institutions, a finance ministry said: “This is completely untrue. However, the ministry’s statement said some of the inputs and input services required for making ‘prasad’ would be subject to the GST. “With the GST being a multistage tax, end use-based exemptions or concessions are difficult to administer,” said the ministry.

Source: Hindustan Times July 11, 2017 13:41 UTC