Tax expenditure on govt wheat, rice buys down post GST implementation.

The tax expenditure on procurement of wheat and rice by the government has come down “significantly” after implementation of the goods and services tax. The total tax expenditure on procurement under the GST regime is estimated at 65.3 bln rupees, down from an estimated 153.6 bln rupees before GST was implemented. However, state governments are imposing various cesses/fees like Rural Development Fee, Market Fee, Nirashrit shulk etc on foodgrains procured within the states even after implementation of GST. The rates of such cesses levied by the state governments vary from state to state.