Kerala Lottery Protection Committee Urges Centre to Withdraw Move to Hike GST

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Lottery Protection Committee has urged the Union government to withdraw its proposal to increase the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on lottery sales from 28% to 40%. A memorandum in this regard was submitted to Union Finance Minister by a delegation including MPs Dr. V Sivadasan and P Santosh Kumar, along with trade union leaders M V Jayarajan, P R Jayaprakash, T B Subair (CITU), Philip Joseph (INTUC), V Balan (AITUC), and Dr. J Jayakumar (KLTA).

The GST Council is scheduled to consider the hike at its meeting on September 3 and 4. The committee pointed out that such a steep tax rise would devastate Kerala’s lottery sector, which provides livelihood to nearly two lakh people, including differently-abled, elderly, and chronically ill workers.

Currently, a 50- rupee ticket provides agents with Rs. 8.40 and sellers with Rs. 7.35 as commission. If the GST is raised to 40 per cent, lottery workers stand to lose Rs. 4 from their earnings. The committee argued that while the GST slabs under consideration are 5 per cent and 18 per cent for most sectors, the proposal to treat lottery as a luxury item and raise the rate to 40% is unjust. Instead, the rate should be reduced to 18 per cent in the absence of the 28 per cent slab.

The Finance Minister, who received the memorandum, assured that the issues raised would be presented before the GST Council. The committee warned that the hike would also adversely affect the welfare benefits provided through the Lottery Workers’ Welfare Board, including pensions, bonuses, medical aid, family support, educational assistance, maternity aid, and vehicles for the differently- abled.

Kerala’s Karunya Benevolent Fund, which offers free treatment to around six lakh patients annually and benefits 42 lakh families, is also funded through lottery revenues. Since the introduction of GST in 2017, the tax rate on lottery has risen from 12 per cent to 28 per cent in 2020, and now faces the threat of being pushed up to 40 per cent, a 350 per cent increase overall.

The committee announced that a state convention will be held in Ernakulam on September 8. If the Union government does not withdraw the move, strong protest programmes will be launched across Kerala.