The UP Authority for Advance Ruling (UPAAR) said that there will be 12% GST on sugarcane juice as it is neither an agri produce, nor a fruit or vegetable, reports The Hindu Businessline.
As per the UPAAR, sugarcane juice is classifiable under Chapter 20 and tariff item 20098990. The juice is taxable at 6% CGST (Central Goods & Services Tax) and 6% SGST (State Goods & Services Tax) or 12% IGST (Integrated Goods & Services Tax), it said while disposing of an application by the Lakhimpur Kheri-based Gobind Sugar Mills Ltd.
Sugarcane juice cannot be classified as agricultural produce as it should contain three essential elements. First, it must be produced from the cultivation of plants and rearing of all life forms of animals. Second, it should not require any further processing, or such processing as is done by the cultivators or producers, which does not alter its essential characteristics. And most importantly, the processing should be such that it is usually done by the cultivator, which only helps it attain marketability in the primary market
“At present sugarcane juice is produced by crushing sugarcane and is not produced by the farmer. It also changes the form and constitution of the product. It becomes raw material for the production of sugar and molasses,” AAR said while explaining why the said juice is not an agriculture produce.
