Kolkata, Mar 6 (PTI) A body of brickfield owners in West Bengal has said the crisis-hit small scale rural cottage industry will see closure of many such units if a proposed hike in goods and services tax (GST) rates on sale of the construction material is implemented from April 1.
Members of the Bengal Brickfield Owners’ Association under the umbrella of the All India Brick & Tile Manufacturers Federation will hold a demonstration in front of Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on March 8 to protest against the planned GST increase and seek immediate rollback of the proposal.
“The central government’s proposal for an exorbitant hike in GST on sale of red clay bricks will spell closure of the sector, if implemented from April 1,” it said in a statement on Friday.
The association of brickfield owners claimed that the GST Council had in September 2021 proposed a hike in the indirect tax on the sale of red clay bricks “from 5 per cent to 12 per cent with input tax credit (ITC) facility under the regular system and from 1 per cent to 6 per cent without ITC under the composition scheme”.
“The floor of the regular scheme has been lowered arbitrarily from an annual turnover of Rs 1.50 crore of a brickfield to Rs 20 lakh,” the industry body said.
The clay brick manufacturing sector is already reeling under acute crisis due to a steep rise in prices of coal and other raw materials and a fall in demand for the construction item, it said.
“The proposed GST rates are arbitrary, unjustified and unilateral. It was decided by the government without any discussion with the red clay brick sector. This reflects dictatorial, non-democratic action of a democratically elected government,” Bengal Brickfield Owners’ Association president Yogesh Aggarwal said. PTI BSM BDC BDC
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