GST department muddies coconut market again with half-definition of copra

KASARAGOD: Hard on the heels of the GST fitment panel proposing an 18% tax (from 5%) on coconut oil sold in packages less than one litre, the Finance Ministry has muddied the coconut market again with a new circular that tends to remove the difference between dried coconut and copra. The circular issued by the Tax Research Unit of the Ministry of Finance on October 6 ostensibly 'clarifies' the dif…