New Delhi, May 23 (PTI) The Finance Ministry is not considering imposition of calamity cess on the GST as businesses are grappling with low sales and declining demand, sources said.

Reports had earlier said that the central government is considering a calamity cess on the Goods and Services Tax, similar to flood cess imposed by Kerala in June last year.

Also Read | Heat Wave Conditions Prevail in Rajasthan, Highest Temperature Recorded at 46.6 Degrees Celsius: Met Department.

Ministry sources said that in the present economic scenario during the COVID-19 pandemic, any purported proposal of introducing a calamity cess would be nothing less than an adversity itself.

This would prove to be counter-productive, as sales are already at low volume and the industry is facing a deep crisis for want of demand and likely labour challenges, a source said.

Also Read | Eid Moon Sighting 2020 News Updates: Shawwal Crescent Sighted in Sri Lanka, Eid Tomorrow; Moon Not Seen in Bangladesh.

“Any such measure would further dampen the consumers' sentiment and could weaken markets' strength, especially when the government is endeavouring its best to boost the consumption," the source said.

Also internationally, no country has tried such imprudent fiddling with their existing tax regimes during COVID time. None of the countries, developed or developing, have increased taxes to counter economic impact of the pandemic, the source added.

Congress leader Kapil Sibal had earlier in the day tweeted: “Even the RBI admits growth this year will be in negative territory. Don't even think of a "calamity cess" on the GST. That will be another "calamity", he said.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)