Chennai, December 14, : , Madurai MP Su Venkatesan said Tuesday that he had requested Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Finance Minister to remove the 12 percent GST from Sungudi Sarees, which are worn traditionally by women in the lowest strata of society.The CPI-M MP stated that he had met with the minister at her New Delhi office and that the unique Sungudi sarees, which are very popular, were made by members of the Saurashtrian minority in Madurai.
He also said that machines were not used in any way on these sarees.He stated that increasing GST rates from 5% to 12% would decimate the sector and make thousands of people unemployed.
He stated that Tamil Nadu had exempted Sungundi sales tax in 1955 and that they had also received the Geographic Identity (GI) card on January 1, 2005.
According to him, the Centre imposed a 5 percent GST on Sungundi Sarees in 2017.
This tax pushed the weaving communities into poverty.Increasing this GST to 12% would bring an end to their production.
He said that the weavers were slowly recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic when the decision to increase GST to 12 per cent had befallen them.He said that the industry would be crushed rendering thousands jobless and on the streets.
The Minister, according to the MP, however, said that revising the GST rate is being decided by the GST Council and not the government.
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