Meanwhile, Centre on Wednesday said, “Sanitizers are disinfectants like soaps, anti-bacterial liquids, dettol, etc., which all attract duty standard rate of 18 per cent under the GST regime”. (Source: File Photo)
Hand sanitiser manufacturers Wednesday protested against the pending tax notices being issued to them after the GST on sanitisers was hiked from 12 per cent to 18 per cent.
The manufacturers said that earlier hand sanitisers were classified as medicinal preparation under Medicinal and Toilet preparations (Excise Duties) Act, 1955, and excise duty was paid on it accordingly. After the imposition of GST in 2017 as per the Medicaments category, these companies had been paying 12 per cent GST.
“Now suddenly the GST department is telling us that santisers fall under the disinfectant category and hence we have to pay 18 per cent GST. They have been sending notices to companies accusing them of evading tax,” the manufacturers said in a statement.
CII Himachal’s former chairman Harish Aggarwal, BBN Association chairman Sanjay Khurana, and Laghu Udyog Bharti Pharma Committee national president Rajesh Gupta, in a statement, said that instead of declaring sanitizer manufacturers as Corona warriors, the GST department has started terming them as tax evaders and is constantly slapping notices.
The statement said that they charge 12 per cent GST from customers and deposit the same with government and hence there is no issue of tax evasion. If the department feels that these industries are committing folly by not paying 18 per cent GST, then why didn’t the department raise objections when the companies have been filing return at 12 per cent GST since June 30, 2017, they said.
Aggarwal said that decision of GST Department to classify hand santisers as “disinfectant”, a category which includes in other products such as insecticides, rodenticides, fungicides, herbicides, anti-sprouting products, and plant-growth regulators, and other similar products, which all are related to the products used for agriculture and horticulture purpose, is highly ambiguous, irrational and unreasonable.
“The alcohol-based hand sanitizers are meant to be used on the human body unlike disinfectants used on the dead surfaces like soil or on the plants,” he said.
Meanwhile, Centre on Wednesday said, “Sanitizers are disinfectants like soaps, anti-bacterial liquids, dettol, etc., which all attract duty standard rate of 18 per cent under the GST regime”.