“It has been clarified that the sale of the Indian National Flag, adhering to the Flag Code 2002 and its subsequent amendments, is exempt from GST,” Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s office tweeted.
The clarification comes in the backdrop of the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ initiative under the ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ celebrating 75 years of India’s independence.
Sale of the Indian national flag, irrespective of whether machine made or of polyester, is exempt from the Goods and Services Tax (GST).
Hand-woven, hand-spun national flags made of cotton, silk, wool or Khadi are already exempt from GST. In an office memorandum, the Revenue Department clarified that polyester or machine-made tricolour too would be exempt from the levy following amendments to the ‘Flag Code of India, 2002’ in December last year.
The idea behind the initiative is to invoke the feeling of patriotism in the hearts of the people and promote awareness about our national flag.