Delhi govt asks centre to cut GST on alternatives to banned plastic

In his letter, Rai said SUP was a major contributor to environmental pollution and in such a situation, an awareness campaign was necessary to stop the use of single-use plastic items.

Environment minister Gopal Rai on Tuesday wrote to Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, requesting the Centre to reduce the GST (goods and services tax) on raw materials that were currently being used to produce alternatives to the 19 single-use plastic (SUP) items that have been banned countrywide, starting July 1.

Representational image (HT File)

In his letter, Rai said SUP was a major contributor to environmental pollution and in such a situation, an awareness campaign was necessary to stop the use of single-use plastic items.

“The Delhi government organised a three-day Plastic Vikalp Mela at Thyagaraj Stadium to encourage alternatives to single use plastic among the general public. While discussing with all the panellists during a round-table conference on the last day of the fair, it was seen that manufacturers, producers and start-ups which are working on the alternatives of SUP have to pay more GST for the raw materials,” said Rai in his letter.

He further said that when compared to bioplastics, which have an import duty of more than 40%, banned plastic products have an import charge that ranges from 10% to 20%. This, he said, increases the purchase cost of alternatives to SUP items, and industrial unions, while desiring to completely switch to SUP alternatives, were unable to do so. Rai said in order to ensure a speedy switch from SUP to cleaner alternatives, it was important to reduce the GST rates on such alternatives and their raw materials.

Central government spokespersons could not be reached for a comment.