New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has answered questions in Parliament about GST on milk, education and other important services. She said that there has been no change in GST exemptions since the tax system started in 2017.
She said that many school items are free from GST. These include pencils, sharpeners, erasers, exercise books, notebooks and maps. She clearly said that important study materials have been tax-free for many years and there is no new GST on them.
Is There GST on Milk?
The Finance Minister said that fresh milk has no GST from the beginning. It is fully tax-free. She also said that the GST on milk products like ghee, paneer and butter was reduced from 12% to 5% in a GST Council meeting. But fresh milk does not have any GST.
GST on Education
She said that there is no GST on education from pre-school to higher secondary level. Courses that give recognized degrees or certificates are also tax-free. Textbooks and notebooks have no GST since 2017.
But some related items have GST. For example, graph paper, lab notebooks and crayons have 12% GST.
https://twitter.com/nsitharamanoffc/status/2021602326092673192
GST on Health and Funeral Services
The Finance Minister said that health services like treatment and medical care have no GST since July 2017. She also said that funeral services have never had GST.
Opposition Reaction
After the discussion, TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee said on social media that fresh milk may be tax-free, but powdered milk has 5% GST. He said poor families who cannot afford fresh milk often buy milk powder for their children, and they still have to pay tax on it.