Appealing to the GST council officials in New Delhi to slash the rates, a delegation from the Tamil Nadu Foodgrains Merchants Association Limited here submitted a memorandum on Thursday.

A press statement issued here said that Association adviser S. P. Jeyapragasam, president S. V. S. S. Velshankar and secretary S. Sai Subramaniam met Additional Secretary GST Council Pankaj Kumar Singh and other officials.

They explained the difficulties faced by the small and tiny merchants and requested for a reduction on taxes on select goods.

The delegation said that the GST on roasted groundnut should be reduced to 5 % from 12 %, biscuits from 18 % to 5 %, namkeens (spices) from 12 % to 5 %, dosa and idli wet batter from 5 % to 0 %, dry fruits which ranged from 5 to 12 % should be slashed to 5 %, camphor from 18 to 5 % and among others.

The association also stressed that by reducing the GST, not only the merchants and manufacturers would benefit, but also the end consumers as the cost of the commodities would come down sizably, the release said.