February 12, 2008

Kerala request for India government to remove chicken import tax
 

The All-Kerala Chicken Merchants and Commission Agencies Association is urging the Indian government to retract a 12.5 percent sales tax imposed on poultry imports to maintain equilibrium with other states.
 

The association's general secretary M C P Salam said other states are not imposing chicken import tax and that even in Kerala, not more than 4 percent of value added tax is charged on food items including meat.

Salam said chickens imported from Tamil Nadu were delayed at check posts for non-payment of tax. He added that if the current situation continues, businesses will be affected and hundreds of families will be deprived of their livelihood.

Salam is urging the government to fix a common purchase price for poultry, as dealers were unable to secure fair returns after paying the sales tax.

Kerala imports about 150,000 to 175,000 chickens from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka on a daily basis, with Rs 5.50 (US$0.14) per kilogram paid as tax, Salam said.