'Puja samagri is exempt': Centre denies reports of 18% GST on Gangajal 

The Centre on Thursday clarified that there was no GST on Gangajal as was reported earlier. It said the Gangajal is used in puja by households across the country and puja samagri is exempt under the GST. "GST on puja samagri was discussed in detail in the 14th and 15th meetings of the GST Council held on 18/19 May 2017 and 3rd June 2017 respectively and decided to keep them in the exempt list," the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) said in a statement. "Therefore, all these items have been exempt since the introduction of GST."

Earlier in the day, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge in a tweet said that the Centre had imposed 18 per cent GST on Gangajal. "It is good that you are in Uttarakhand today, but your government has imposed 18% GST on the holy Ganga water itself," Kharge said while referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in Uttarakhand today. "Not even once did I think what would be the burden on those who order Ganga water in their homes," the Congress chief said, adding that this is the height of "plunder and hypocrisy of your government".

However, BJP's IT Cell head Amit Malviya accused Kharge of misrepresenting the facts. In a detailed tweet, Malviya said it was clearly mentioned, under entry 99 of Notification 2/2017 that water attracts nil GST. The GST Council, in its 47th meeting, held on 28th-29th June, 2022, further clarified this, he said.

"Puja Samagri has been GST-free, since the onset of GST in 2017. No recent notifications have indicated changes to the GST rate on packed water bottles or Gangajal," the BJP leader said. "For the Congress, to misrepresent these facts is not just a careless oversight but a deliberate propaganda, to mislead."

"The 'Chunaavi Hindu' party has shown no support for Hindus, over decades. The Congress, not only remained a mute observer, as I.N.D.I Alliance parties, like the DMK, equated Hindus and Sanatan Dharma to grave diseases, several Congress MPs and MLAs, including yourself, endorsed calls to undermine the Sanatan Dharma. It is disgraceful that Congress now feigns concern for Hindus and resorts to spreading misinformation and half-truths," he said.