Exempt ‘langar’ purchases made by SGPC from GST: Harsimrat Badal

Harsimrat said Harmandar Sahib ran the world’s largest mega kitchen offering free meals throughout the year to lakhs of people. She said the donation for the same came from offerings made by people.

Union minister for food processing industries Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Saturday urged Union finance minister Arun Jaitley to exempt all purchases made by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) for “langar sewa” from the GST Act.

Union minister for food processing industries Harsimrat Kaur Badal. (HT File Photo)

In a statement here, Harsimrat said the Punjab government had earlier exempted all items purchased for “langar” by SGPC at Darbar Sahib, Amritsar, Keshgarh Sahib, Anandpur, and Talwandi Sabo, Bathinda, from VAT. She said SGPC spent around Rs 75 crore to purchase desi ghee, sugar and pulses. “Now it will have to bear a financial burden of Rs 10 crore on these purchases as they come under the 5 to 18% GST bracket,” she said.

Requesting the finance minister to get these purchases exempted under the new GST regime, She said Harmandar Sahib ran the world’s largest mega kitchen offering free meals throughout the year to lakhs of people. She said the donation for the same came from offerings made by people.