TN Foodgrains Merchants Assn team meets Union FM Mrs.Nirmala Sitharaman on May 26th 2026.
MADURAI: The Tamil Nadu Foodgrains Association had submitted a detailed memorandum to Union Finance Minister Mrs.Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi on May 26th 2026 requesting her immediate intervention and support for various GST issues, agriculture and Madurai airport expansion.
Mr.S.P.Jeyapragasam, association’s honorary advisor and Mr.M.Karthikeyan, treasurer, met the Union Finance Minister in the national capital and they also met the Additional Secretary of GST Council Mr.Pankaj Kumar Singh to highlight 10 important requests pertaining to Goods and Services Tax, according to a press release received from the association in Madurai yesterday.
The association had requested that GST must be fully exempted for essential food items irerespective of their packaging weight.
“Our point is that presently rice, dhal, flour, wheat, millets, sugarcane, jaggery and palmyrah jaggery are levied GST if it is packed less than 25 kgs and are exempted if it is packed more than 25 kgs. So, our request is to exempt these essential food items fully irrespective of packaging and weight,” the association had urged.
FOR CORRUGATED PAPER PACKAGING:
Another point raised by the Tamil Nadu Foodgrains Merchants Association was request for parity of GST rates in corrugated paper packaging- corrugated box, printing industry, notebook industry and matchbox industry.
Reducing of GST on camphor meant for pooja purposes from the present 18 per cent to 5 per cent, request to reduce rate of taxation on clay bricks to 5 per cent with ITC, full exemption of GST for wet idly batter, levying only 5 per cent GST for all types of fertilizers and pesticides, e-rail pass and e-bus pass for goods transported through railway parcel service and omni bus service, speeding up the Madurai airport expansion works and request to resolve the ITC refund difficulties were some of the other issues raised by the association besides a request to find a permanent solution for excess pesticide residue in agricultural produces by coordinating with FSSAI and Agriculture Department.
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