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| - Fact Check: No, Centre has not imposed GST on school books
At the time, the Press Information Bureau had clarified that no taxes had been levied on school books.
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India Today Fact Check
Printed books, newspapers, periodicals and journals, etc. are not taxable under GST. However, other products in the printing industry are taxable.
The Goods and Services Tax Council decided to include certain daily-use items in the GST collection during its 47th meeting in late June. Following this, a post has gone viral on social media claiming that the Centre has imposed taxes on all school books.
AFWA Probe
We looked for relevant news reports or information about the claim. Per India Filings, a cloud-based platform that provides accounting and financial services, there is no tax on printed books. We then checked the official website of the GST Council of India.
While the website does not specifically say anything about school textbooks, it says that there is no tax on printed books, including those in braille. Along with this, it is clarified that GST will not apply to newspapers, periodicals, journals, and children's colouring and drawing books.
In 2020, a similar claim went viral on social media. At the time, the Press Information Bureau had clarified that no taxes had been levied on school books.
: #PIBFactCheck: pic.twitter.com/OsvfgYMOgC — PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) September 24, 2020
It is thus clear that books are exempt from tax. However, exercise books, graphs, etc. are taxed. Apart from this, taxes are levied on printing, binding, paper pulp, and even writers’ royalties. Thus, the tax will have an impact on the book industry. Reports about the same can be seen here and here.
However, there is no direct GST levied on school textbooks. So, it is clear that the posts being circulated are misleading.
(With inputs from Sanjana Saxena)
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