‘Absentee’ landlords under GST ambit

The change in the definition of an “agriculturist” in the Central Goods and Service Tax (GST) Bill has brought “absentee” landlords under its ambit and set alarm bells ringing in states such as Punjab, where most of the big landlords prefer to lease their land.  Agriculture experts point out that the land lease model is a widely prevalent farm practice accounting for more than half of the lan…