Chandigarh: The BJP-led Centre government on Friday decided to provide special financial assistance to the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) under Sewa Bhoj Yojana to offset the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on langar. The SGPC has long been demanding waiver on langar items.
Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal tweeted copy of the order on her twitter handler, she said “Heartfelt gratitude to PM Sh. @narendramodi ji for respecting Sikh sentiments by launching Seva Bhoj Yojna to refund CGST and IGST on Langar served in Gurudwaras and all other religious/charitable institutions”.
The GST is not levied on food served in the langar, but is charged on the purchase of raw materials used to prepare the food. The Golden Temple has paid over Rs 2 crore in GST on langar items till date. The purchase for the Golden Temple’s kitchen, which feeds between 55,000 and 60,000 devotees daily, comes to around Rs 75 crore annually. On Tuesday, SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal who, along with his wife and Union Minister Harsimrat Badal, paid obeisance at the shrine, had said that the GST on langar purchases at the Golden Temple would be waived.
The Punjab Government led by Captain Amarinder Singh has already waived off their share of GST from Langar.