In Letter To Arun Jaitley, Nitish Kumar Explains Why Langars Should Be Made GST-Free

Kolkata: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has written to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley asking him to make langars exempted from GST, the new national sales tax.

Langars or community kitchens at Gurudwaras are facing the heat of the newly imposed tax and managing committees have been demanding a rollback.

In his letter, Mr Kumar said "Gurdwaras are engaged in charitable activities and are well recognised as centres of selfless service. The most prominent of such activities is providing food through langars to anyone and everyone who visits a Gurdwara." 

He argued that although food served through a langar is not liable to tax under GST, some significant inputs like sugar, ghee, edible oil and spices are taxable. "The tax on these inputs adds to the cost of the Gurdwara. Imposition of tax on the aforementioned inputs should be discouraged in view of the sanctity of the langar. Hence, food provided through a langar should be relieved of any tax burden," Mr Kumar said.
 Earlier, union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal had also urged Mr Jaitley to exempt all purchases made for langars from GST.

The managing committee of the Golden Temple in Amritsar spends around Rs 75 crore to purchase desi ghee, sugar and pulses, all used in the preparation of food served at its langar. Citing this, Ms Badal said the committee would have to bear a financial burden of Rs 10 crore on purchases, as they come under the 5 to 18 per cent GST slab.

Congress has also sought the exemption and a party lawmaker wrote to PM Narendra Modi. Punjab government has already decided to waive its share of the GST imposed on purchases made for langar at the Golden Temple.

The government last year stated that free food supplied by temples, mosques, churches and gurudwaras will not be subject to GST. However, it noted that some of the ingredients for preparing the food, including sugar, ghee and butter would be subjected to taxation.

(With ANI inputs)