Mysuru-Kodagu MP Pratap Simha on Tuesday met Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmer Welfare Shobha Karandlaje and urged her to bring down the GST on bio-fertilizers and other organic inputs from 12 per cent to 5 per cent.
The MP, who submitted a memorandum to the Minister, said India is positively looking at the year 2022 with great hopes after a catastrophic year-and-a-half due to pandemic and the tax structure is an integral plan of the revival plan.
“Agriculture contributes 18 per cent to our country’s GDP. Such being the case, bio-fertilizers, biocontrol agents and bio-pesticides are important agri inputs that help in curbing pests and diseases on plants and play a major role in increasing agricultural production. Bio-fertilizers are completely organic in nature with zero chemical residues and they go a long way in promoting sustainable soil health which is the need of the hour,” Mr. Simha told the Minister.
However, several such bio-fertilizers are being levied with 12 per cent GST which is like a direct taxation on the farmers’ pocket. Bringing down the slab to 5 per cent will help promote organic farming on a larger scale and also ease the financial burden on the farmer, the MP felt.
Mr. Simha also urged the Minister to reduce the GST on biocontrol agents to 5 per cent so as to benefit the farmers and to increase the agricultural production in the country.
The list of bio-pesticides that are under the 12 per cent GST bracket such as bacillus thuringiensis; bacillus sphaericus; and trichoderma viride were mentioned in the memorandum by the Minister.
