Exempt seafood from the GST: SEAI

marine products exporters association advise that Seafood should be treated as agricultural produce and exempted from the GST, proposed to come in force from April 1, 2017.

Raghavan Ramabadran, a Chennai-based partner in law firm Lakshmikumaran and Sridharan, which is an advisor to Seafood Exporters Association of India, said the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), under the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry, has been demanding the “exemption of seafood products from the GST” before the bill is implemented.

Intended to provide a valuable forum for exchange of experiences and exposure to new technologies which will intimately help in boosting exports of the country’s marine products, the IISS is also aimed at boosting India’s aquaculture industry with the US, EU, Southeast Asia, Japan and China as major partners.

This year’s seafood show has been organised with the theme of “Safe and Sustainable Indian Aquaculture” to project the quality of aquaculture.

according to Ramabadran , The exported products contain preservatives to increase the shelf life but are not completely processed, and are being transported in raw form only and India, being the world’s seventh largest seafood producer, needs to increase value added operations in the marine industry and promote sustained small scale aquaculture through empowerment of farmers

he further added that The processing operations should be encouraged in the country under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ initiative. It will not only create employment but also boost the growth of the seafood industry