All India Rice Exporters Association (AIREA) lobbies for rice traders and exporters, has written to finance minister Arun Jaitley, seeking a change in the current GST norms to bring all rice brands under the 5% tax net. Under the current norms, GST on staples such as rice, wheat and cereals is zero. But branded ones with trademark registration will attract GST of 5%. In a letter to Jaitley, dated 6 July, AIREA said that only 10% of the rice brands in India have a trademark registration. The current norm will benefit the companies with Rs 2,000 crore revenue and above as their brands are not registered with Trade Mark Act 1999 due to some legal and technical issues.