ISLAMABAD, July 17: The government has withdrawn a 15 per cent general sales tax (GST) levied on the supply of cottonseed in the budget 2004-05, a notification issued by the Central Board of Revenue on Saturday said.

However the withdrawal, under SRO612, does not affect a similar levy on cottonseed oil.

Through another notification (SRO613), the CBR amended the sales tax special procedure rules 2004 to do away with a condition requiring a ginner to apply separately for the registration of each ginning unit and other taxable activity in the same premises.

The government in the current budget had made it compulsory for all ginners to register each unit with the sales tax department separately.

The Finance Act 2004-05 had levied the 15 per cent GST on cottonseed and its oil to raise maximum revenues. But oilcakes, constituting around 85 per cent of cottonseed, remained exempted from the levy.

This created problems for oil industries in claiming input adjustment against duty paid on cottonseed.