The Fireworks industry will face lower taxes under the GST regime, thanks to the availability of input tax credits, said C. Chandramouli, secretary, Commercial Taxes and Registration department.
The State’s firecracker manufacturing cluster around Sivakasi in Virudhunagar district has been protesting against the levy of 28% GST on fireworks.
“The pre-GST tax rate for the industry was 27%, and it changes to 28% under GST. However, the industry can claim tax credits for rent paid on buildings and on other grounds, which would bring down the tax rate to 20%,” Mr. Chandramouli said while addressing mediapersons here on Saturday.
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Stating that enough pressure was exerted with regard to this issue during Friday’s GST Council meeting ahead of the roll-out of the new tax regime, Finance Minister D. Jayakumar said, “The GST Council will continue to meet every month. We will continue to exert pressure and raise concerns.”
Both Mr. Jayakumar and Mr. Chandramouli assured that the transition to the GST regime would be smooth as the State was well-prepared for it.