The combine harvester manufacturers are demanding that the GST for the engine used in manufacturing of the machinery be put in the lowest bracket. The GST on engine used in combine harvesters is presently 28% and the manufacturers want it to be lowered to 12%. As the engine costs Rs 3 lakh, a 16% drop in GST would bring down the overall cost of the harvester combine by Rs 48,000 and that rebate would be passed on to the consumers, they said. The combine manufacturers accompanied by Union food processing industry minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Tuesday met Union finance minister Arun Jaitley.
Jaitley assured them that he would look into their demand.On October 6, the union government had changed the classification of combine harvesters from construction equipment to farm equipment, reducing tax burden by nearly Rs 80,000 per machine. A new self-propelled combine harvester of over 100 horsepower capacity costs nearly Rs 18 lakh. All India Combine Manufactures Association general secretary Amar Singh told TOI, “The engine used in manufacturing of combine harvesters attracts 28% GST, which we want to be lowered to 12%. We met the Union finance minister to voice our demand. He assured us that he will look into our demand.”