Exempt rural marketing, sales promotion from service tax: Assocham

"The marketing and sales promotion activities' exemption from service tax would help the companies lower the products' prices which will further help in widening the rural sales," the chamber said.

In post-Budget memorandum submitted to Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee by Assocham President Swati Piramal, it was highlighted that rural folks have already started stimulating demand for products and they should be offered goods at lower prices.

The suggested move, if accepted, would not only enhance sales of branded and quality goods in rural areas, but also help in preventing use of fake products in villages.
This would also help in creating awareness among rural masses for high-quality consumer goods and would prevent flooding rural markets with sub-standard quality goods.
Further, the chamber demanded that the service tax on transportation of agricultural products, such as, oil seeds and edible oils, should also be abolished aimed at reducing the rates of these commodities, since India is deficient in it.