Tamil Nadu Govt. demands to exempt Cooperative Products and Services from GST

The Tamil Nadu government urged the Union government led by the BJP to exempt cooperative products and services from the GST.

K R Periyakaruppan, Tamil Nadu’s minister for cooperation, met with Union Minister Amit Shah, who also holds the extra portfolio of cooperation, in Delhi and presented a memorandum outlining a number of demands.

Among these were GST exemptions for cooperative products and services, Income Tax exemptions for main agricultural cooperative credit societies, and exemptions from TDS deduction.

According to the memorandum, “Cooperative societies are engaged in activities such as processing and value addition of agricultural produce, manufacturing of agricultural implements, and renting of agricultural implements under primary agricultural cooperative credit societies (PACCS). The PACCS’ products and services will thus be exempted from GST, allowing cooperatives to flourish.”

The Tamil Nadu government also encouraged the inclusion of cooperative banks on the panel of banks for Union government loan schemes, as well as the improvement of the infrastructure of cooperative management institutes.