FM Nirmala says, Govt stands guard against price hike

By Our Special Correspondent

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday strongly defended her inflation management, saying the GST regime has not increased the tax burden on households, as prices were compared with current prices six months before the UPA left power.

Responding to the debate on price hike in the Rajya Sabha, she said that all states have agreed to GST tax on food items like rice, wheat flour, curd and such levy on one or the other daily essentials since 22 States.

Clarifying doubts over the imposition of GST tax on some of the most debated items, the minister said no tax has been levied on cash withdrawals from bank accounts or on crematoriums or hospital beds and ICUs.

She said that GST is levied on purchases of printed check books by banks from printers, while there is no tax on check books used by regular bank customers.

Similarly, GST has been levied only on the construction of new burial grounds and the equipment used therein. She said no tax is levied on funerals, cremations or burials.

Daily rent Rs. GST is levied only on hospital rooms above 5,000 and not on hospital beds or ICU.

Sitharaman compared the current prices of tomato, onion and potato with the November 2013 prices to say that the prices have remained stable amid opposition fire over the rise in prices of daily essentials.

At the time, she attacked the Congress-led UPA regime, saying prices had grown by three digits, with onion prices rising to Rs. He said that it is more than 100.

About the prices when the UPA left power in May 2014 or the prices of onion in November 2019 which were Rs. She did not mention the prices in October 2020 again after crossing 100.

On the imposition of GST tax on wheat, rice, pulses, curd, paneer, lassi and other essential items, Sitharaman said the 5% tax was imposed only on pre-packaged and labeled items and not on those sold loosely and would not affect the poor.

The levy was imposed after all states agreed to it at a meeting of the GST Council in June in Chandigarh, representing all states and UTs. She said not a single member of the GST Council spoke against it.

She said that before the introduction of GST in July 2017, every state was taxing some or the other food items like cereals, pulses, curd, lassi, buttermilk and we have read some of the states that have taxed it.

TMC leader Derek O'Brien wanted to raise a point of order when she said West Bengal had taxed paneer in the pre-GST era. However, when Bhuvneshwar Kalita, who was in the chair, refused him permission, the TMC MPs staged a walkout in protest.