FOOD PROCESSING SECTOR UNLIKELY TO SUFFER HIGHER TAXATION EVEN POST GST, SPECIAL SECRETARY, MOFPI

Special Secretary, Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Mr. J P Meena on Wednesday assured the industry that the GST regime is unlikely to adversely affect this sector with higher taxation slabs as the available indications suggests that it would continue to be taxed at existing rates even post GST.

He further stressed that the Ministry of Food Processing Industries is insisting on with the Ministry of Finance that this sector should be subjected to minimum taxation even post GST for its further growth as also to ensure that investments in it continue to be attractive so that linkages between agri-producer and manufacturers are established in a manner that lead to production of quality products with reasonable prices.

Addressing the 4^th International Conference & Exhibition – India Farm 2 Fork 2016 under aegis of PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry here today, Mr. Meena also said that the government was going to put and evolve policies and schemes that would promote food processing industries so much as also to bring down agri wastages by 50% in next 5-6 years from currently estimated annual losses of Rs.1 lakh crores.

“With the pro-active policies of the government of the day and its commitment to further improve upon them, the average level of FDIs into food processing sector in the last three years has been to an extent of $500 million per annum”, said Mr. Meena.

According to him, the mega food parks that have been coming up across the country in 42 locations are the major source of FDIs into food processing sector in which sufficient and adequate infrastructure to set up processing units is available though government will further improve on such an infrastructure.

Mr. Meena called upon the industry to improve their quality of processing to let India excel even on exports front as the government has already asked the food regulator FSSAI to streamline its safety standards and align them with CODEX norms so that India’s quality of food processing products become unquestionable.

“Whereas FSSAI has streamline several of its safety standards, it is also in the process of further introducing new norms so that quality products come out from food processing units that could be of global standards and also facilitate India’s exports on this front”, said Mr. Meena.

Among others who spoke on the occasion comprised Chairperson, Agribusiness Committee, PHD Chamber, Ms Priyanka Mittal; its Senior Member and Chairman, Kwality Dairy Industries, Dr. R S Khanna and Partner, Earnst & Young India, Mr. Devinder Chawla.