Raipur, Aug 8 (PTI) Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has written to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman urging not to impose an additional 12 per cent GST on the rent paid for hostel accommodation in the interest of students, officials said on Tuesday.

Baghel's letter to Sitharaman comes days after the Bengaluru bench of GST's Authority of Advance Ruling (AAR) ordered that 12 per cent GST will be applicable on the rent paid for hostel accommodation and paying guests.

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Seeking Sitharaman's intervention in the AAR order, the chief minister requested her to direct authorities to provide relief to students living in hostels from the additional burden of 12 per cent GST.

It would be extremely difficult for the poor and the lower middle-class parents to bear the extra burden of 12 per cent GST as they are already bearing the brunt of inflation, the CM stated.

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With such a decision, many poor meritorious students may be forced to return to their native places, he added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)