Unprocessed, unpacked food: sales tax exemption to continue in budget

The unprocessed and unpacked food stuff would remain exempt from sales tax in budget (2013-14) under Sixth Schedule of the Sales Tax Act, 1990. Sources told Business Recorder on Thursday that the zero-rating on local supplies of non-export oriented sectors would be withdrawn and subjected to standard rate of 16 percent sales tax during the upcoming budget.
However, sales tax exemption would continue on unprocessed and unpacked food stuff - pulses; live animals and live poultry; meat of bovine animals, sheep and goat, excluding poultry and offal, whether or not fresh, frozen or otherwise, preserved, fish and crustaceans excluding live fish whether or not fresh, frozen or otherwise, preserved; eggs including eggs for hatching; edible vegetables including roots and tubers; edible fruits; red chillies excluding those sold in retail packing bearing brand names and trademarks; ginger excluding that sold in retail packing bearing brand names and trademarks; turmeric; cereals and products of milling industry; seeds, fruit and spores of a kind used for sowing; edible oils and vegetable ghee, including cooking oil, on which Federal Excise Duty is charged; milk preparations; fruit juices, whether fresh, frozen or otherwise preserved; table salt including iodised salt excluding salt sold in retail packing bearing brand names and trademarks; ice and waters excluding those for sale under brand names or trademarks and poultry feed and cattle feed including all their ingredients and any other unprocessed and unpacked food stuff under Sixth Schedule of the Sales Tax Act, 1990. Sources said that the domestic sales tax zero-rating would be completely withdrawn in a phased manner in coming days.