PM: Need simple tax frame for growth

New Delhi
Oct. 6: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday acknowledged the need to rationalise and simplify tax structure and adequate infrastructure for growth of food processing industry in the country. The “sunrise” sector, which grew at 14.7 per cent in the last financial year despite economic slowdown, can catapult India’s growth story and replicate the success of the Indian IT industry globally, Dr Singh claimed
“Though primary agricultural commodities are mostly exempted from taxes, processed foods are subjected to multiple levies. There is an urgent need to rationalise and simplify tax structure,” Dr Singh said, adding that despite being a major food producer, the country’s share in the global processed food trade is less than two per cent.
At present, many states are levying additional cess even when the empowered panel of finance ministers of states on value-added tax has suggested a four per cent VAT on processed fruits and vegetables, hampering the flow of investment into the sector.
Inaugurating a conference of food processing ministers of different states, the Prime Minister assured that the government would formulate a National Food Processing Policy to spell out the vision for rapid growth in food processing.