The Government of India clarified that fresh milk and pasteurised milk are fully exempted from Goods and Service Tax (GST). Milk products like curd, lassi, butter milk and paneer are also exempted from GST if sold in forms other than those pre-packaged and labelled.
In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said a nominal GST of 5 per cent applies to curd, lassi, butter milk and paneer when sold in pre-packaged and labelled form, and Ultra High-Temperature Milk, said finace Minister.
Further, a GST of 12 per cent applies to condensed milk, butter, ghee and cheese. GST exemptions and rates apply uniformly across States. A nominal GST of 5 per cent applies to curd, lassi, butter milk and paneer when sold in pre-packaged and labelled form.
Finance Minister Sitharaman said GST rates are prescribed on the recommendation of the GST Council, which is a constitutional body comprising of representatives from both Centre and the States and Union Territories.
It is a constitutional body under Article 279A. It makes recommendations to the Union and State Government on issues related to Goods and Service Tax and was introduced by the Constitution (One Hundred and First Amendment) Act, 2016.
The GST Council is chaired by the Union Finance Minister . Every decision of the Goods and Services Tax Council shall be taken at a meeting by a majority of not less than three-fourths of the weighted votes of the members present and voting. The vote of the Central Government shall have a weightage of one third of the total votes cast, and the votes of all the State Governments taken together shall have a weightage of two-thirds of the total votes cast.
