The government has decided to defer the levy of the flood cess on goods and services transacted within the State from June 1 to July 1.
The decision has been made to avoid a tax on the cess. The cess collection would be implemented only after making adequate changes in the GST rules on the basis of the recommendations of the GST Council so that a tax on the cess would be avoided.
Traders had also sought more time for collecting the cess, Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac said in a release here on Wednesday. The proceeds from this were to be routed for the Rebuild Kerala initiative.
Hotel owners’ plea
Meanwhile, the Kerala Hotel and Restaurant Association (KHRA) has urged the government to exempt the food served in hotels and restaurants from the proposed flood cess. KHRA president Moideenkutty Haji and secretary G. Jaipal, in a statement, said the flood cess would become an additional burden on diners and hotel owners who were already reeling under the GST regime.
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