May 10, 2021
Since last year the industry body has been requesting the government to reduce the GST from 18% slab to 12% to no avail. The industry body is also pushing for a transition of the industry to the composition scheme category. This would keep it at par with dairy industries, which have comparably lower tax slabs ranging from nil to 5% or 12% GST.
In comparison, ice cream is under the 18% GST slab for no good reason. It is important to note that the ice cream industry thrives on raw materials from the dairy industry, accounting for 5% of India’s GDP. The industry’s poor performance might spill over in the form of low demands for milk, butter and cream. This could affect the livelihoods of farmers and people in the dairy and related food processing industries.
Although the losses are not new for the company, what’s new is the declining sentiments for the dessert in the market.
“None of our requests have been met till now. The government could do a lot to boost the sector during such pall of gloom in the economy,” said Secretary Ashish A Nahar of IICMA. “March and April have already passed. We have just one more month to prove our point to the government. If not now, then we would not be able to recover even a part of our losses over the rest of the year”, he added. “Ice cream is sold mainly during the peak selling season of March to May. And with the current lockdown in progress, we have lost all hope,” he added further.
“We have also approached electricity department for deferral payments for the invoices raised during lockdown”, concluded Ashish Nahar.