The 55th GST Council met under the Chairpersonship of Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, today. The council recommended 5% GST on fortified rice kernel.
In a major relief to the poor, the GST council recommended to reduce the GST rate on Fortified Rice Kernel (FRK), classifiable under 1904, to 5%.
Fortified rice kernels are either coated rice kernels or extruded rice-shaped kernels prepared with a mix of vitamins and minerals. Sometimes a powdery blend of nutrients is dusted onto unfortified rice, but this is only useful in countries where consumers do not wash rice before cooking it.
The meeting was also attended by Union Minister of State for Finance Shri Pankaj Chaudhary, Chief Ministers of Goa, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Meghalaya and Odisha; Deputy Chief Ministers of Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Telangana; besides Finance Ministers of States & UTs (with legislature) and senior officers of the Ministry of Finance & States/ UTs.
The GST Council inter-alia made the following recommendations relating to changes in GST tax rates, provide relief to individuals,measures for facilitation of trade and measures for streamlining compliances in GST.
