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Issues & Analysis
GST on fertilizer worst hit
all crops inputs
LAHORE-Various agriculturists,
representatives of farmers organisations and officials of
Punjab Agriculture Department have foreseen significant
decrease in production of all crops following 15 per cent levy
of GST on fertilizers.
According to a survey conducted by The Nation, the
agriculturist and representatives of farmers organisations
said that the imposition of GST on fertilizers has brought all
farm inputs, except tractors, under the tax net, which has
been a major IMF demand. They said that increase in the price
of the fertilizers would be more than 15pc as government also
levied 15pc GST on the raw material used in the production of
fertilizers.
They said that government should have consulted all the
concerned quarters of the agriculture sector, especially the
farmers, before taking any major step about the whole sector.
They expressed the fear that the prices of all inputs of the
agriculture sector would sharply go up considerably following
this decision. They were of the view that instead the
government should have given some tax relief to
drought-stricken farmers saying that most of inputs would go
out of small farmer's reach.
It may be added that the fertilizers on which 15pc GST had
been levied on Monday, include: Phosphatic Rots and
Phosphorus; Phosphatic fertilizer; animal and vegetable
fertilizer; mineral and chemical fertilizers; nitrogen;
potassium fertilizers; ammonium nitrate; sodium nitrate; super
phosphate; basic slag; sivaite potassium sulphate; potassium
chloride; calcium cyanide etc.'Pak-EU accord conditions be
disclosed'
Courtesy The Nation,
September 5, 2001
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