The Union Ministry of Culture on June 1, 2018 introduced a new scheme called “Seva Bhoj Yojna” to reimburse the central share of CGST and IGST on items for food/Prasad/langar/Bhandara offered free of cost by charitable religious institutions.
About the Yojana:
The scheme seeks to reimburse the central government’s share of Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) and Integrated Goods and Service Tax (IGST) on purchase of raw items such as ghee, edible oil, atta, maida, rava, flour, rice pulses, sugar and jaggery, which go into preparation of food/Prasad/langar/Bhandara offered free of cost by religious institutions.
- The main objective of the scheme is to lessen the financial burden of such charitable religious institutions, which provide free of cost without any discrimination to the general public and devotees.
- The institutions/organizations should have been in existence for preceding three years before applying for assistance.