Wherehouse? Spice, dry fruit importers facing GST heat
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) authorities have served notices to about 50 importers of spices, dry fruits, processed food and poultry over storage of products at warehouses different from the actual place of supply seeking additional tax payment of an estimated Rs 1,000 crore, said people with knowledge of the development.
In some cases, the authorities have also warned the importers of cancellation of registration, they said.
ET has seen some of the notices. Importers of perishable agricultural commodities usually store the products at a warehouse close to a port or at a specialised cold storage unit, from where supplies are later made to domestic customers.
Tax authorities want importers to register these temporary storage warehouses under GST, citing provisions in the GST law that require registration of place of supply.
Importers claim that they need a warehouse near the port or place of final supply for perishables and that the final place of supply was registered. They say the authorities’ demand would unnecessarily increase compliance burden. All imports are treated as inter-state supplies for the purposes of levy of GST.
