Khakhra was rated luxury breakfast by GST council: Nitin Patel

Ahmedabad: Deputy CM Nitin Patel recounted his times of playing the agony aunt for traders and manufacturers while representing before the council to get taxes reduced on commodities. The issue that taxed Patel the most was taking Gujarati khakhras off the “luxury breakfast tax” slab which was placed in the 28% GST tax slab. “The council refused to believe me that khakhras were not luxury breakfast. How do I tell them khakhras were often made from rotis of the previous day. I almost thought of serving them some khakhras first before taking up the issue in the next round of meetings,” he said.
Patel recounted how he was once accused of supporting ‘crorepatis’ when taking the issues of the diamond polishing industry, “When they proposed a 3% slab for diamonds, I sternly protested. I was also accused of supporting crorepatis. I was concerned about the lakhs of people employed in the diamond polishing industry,” he said.
Patel recounted how prior to the GST implementation, hordes of representative bodies used to storm into his office, seeking regularization on GST slabs. “Dealers and manufacturers of both hot and cold beverages visited me to protest. Even textile traders came in many a time and today, they’re part of this celebration! And I listened to all sorts of arguments and tried to pacify dealers,” said Patel.

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