HYDERABAD: Telangana Finance Minister T Harish Rao on Friday urged Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to take steps for waiving GST on beedi industry in the State.
Harish Rao made a representation to Nirmala Sitharaman on the sidelines of the GST Council meeting held in Goa. He brought to her notice that there are about 1,000 beedi industries in the State in which about five lakh people were working and of whom 90 per cent are women from poor socio-economic strata. The State government, to help the beedi workers, has been providing `2,016 under Aasara pension scheme. After the beedi industry had been brought under GST, the tax burden has become quite heavy. At present the GST burden on beedi industry is a whopping 28 per cent and 18 per cent on beedi leaves, he said.
As women are dependent on the beedi industry for livelihood, it would be a great favour for them if the GST is lifted on the beedi industry. He also sought special incentives for the beedi workers.
The Union minister is understood to have asked him to send her the proposals on how and what kind of incentives could be given to them. She said if the proposals are good, she would be able to come up with a policy decision for the entire country.
Revenue Principal Secretary Somesh Kumar and Finance Principal Secretary K Ramakrishna accompanied Harish Rao.