By Ravinder Singh Robin New Delhi, Aug 5 : AAP Rajya Sabha MP Vikramjit Singh Sahney told reporters on Friday that the Ministry of Finance and the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) have clarified that there will not be GST applicable to “Sarais” (inns) owned by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) or other religious organisations.
He further clarified that GST would not be applicable to Sarais located outside of gurdwara premises that are owned by SGPC or other religious institutions, trusts, or societies.
The AAP MP from Punjab who brought up the issue during Zero Hour in the Parliament the issue was raised because the Sarais might be located outside of the wall of Gurdwaras.
Sahney stated that he had also spoken with SGPC President Harjinder Singh Dhami.
He informed him that Sarais run by SGPC does not have to pay GST.
He added that even though purchases made for “langar” are exempt from GST, SGPC and other Gurdwaras have to pay the GST first, and then claim reimbursement.
He was also demanding that the government release all GST pending payments to the SGPC that totals to 4 crore rupees.
On the other side, Dhami informed that they had begun collecting the GST but had not yet deposited the money with the government.
He also stated that Sarais are not profit-making or commercial institutions however, they are designed to provide service to the “Sangat”.
Dhami explained that SGPC needed to fund various facilities, such as maintenance, air conditioning and so on.So they pay small fees from visiting pilgrims.But, GST would have been an additional burden on devotees.
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