How can there be tax on religious and community service: SGPC

Chandigarh : Questioning the logic of the central government and the GST Council imposing a tax on religious and social service done for common people, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), which manages Sikh shrines in Punjab and runs a “langar” (free community kitchen) for hundreds of thousands of people on a daily basis, has made its displeasure known.
SGPC president Kirpal Singh Badungar says that he is aghast at the “additional tax burden of nearly Rs 10 crore” (Rs 100 million) on the SGPC for running its free and voluntary “sewa” (community service). “There is SGPC doing social and religious service for the betterment of the people. The (Narendra) Modi government and (Union Finance Minister) Arun Jaitley have imposed this unwarranted tax burden on us. Jaitley is misleading the people by saying that there is no GST on ‘kara-prasad’ (sacrament). All ingredients like ghee, flour, sugar and other things that go into making the prasad have been taxed heavily,” Badungar pointed out.