The finance ministry on July 3 appealed to people to not circulate “wrong messages” on social media that say that there is a religion-based distinction made in the Good and Services Tax (GST) law. The ministry clarified that the messages are “completely untrue”.
“There are some messages going around in the social media stating that the temple trusts have to pay the GST while the churches and mosques are exempt. This is completely untrue because no distinction is made in the GST Law on any provision based on religion,” the ministry said in a statement.
The government introduced GST on July 1 for effecting a uniform indirect taxation system all over the country.
Last year, the Reserve Bank of India too had to issue an advisory to banks, asking them to not believe rumours circulating on social media. Social media was rife with rumours of a nano GPS chip being installed in the new Rs. 2,000 note introduced after demonetisation.
“It has been reported that certain guidelines/instructions purported to be issued by RBI are being circulated in the social media by some unscrupulous elements creating confusion in the minds of the public/ bank personnel. Banks are, therefore, cautioned to abide by only those instructions which are either uploaded on our website (www.rbi.org.in) or mailed through the official mail,” the advisory read.