Hailing the Goods and Services Tax (GST) imposed by the Centre from July 1, Executive Director Kairali Ayurvedic Group Abhilash K Ramesh has said that the new taxation regime by the government will benefit the Ayurvedic industry in the long run despite the tax rates being slightly higher.
"GST is something that the country needs for a better economic situation. Though there is little difficulty amongst the industry in accepting the GST as of now, as there are increased number of taxes and number of processes for taxation, but things will normalise soon," Abhilash K Ramesh told ANI.
At present, the Ayurvedic medicines and products have a total tax incidence of 12 percent, including VAT, depending on the items.
"The demand of the Ayurvedic products might see a little fluctuation for a month or so, since the amount of tax collected on each product has gone up and the price has also increased. But this situation is pan industry," Abhilash said while hoping that the government gets to reduce the taxation rates on the "care and cure to common man at affordable price" Ayurvedic products.
Kairali Ayurvedic Group, which was established on solid grounds of Ayurveda research has been built on the achievements of its forefathers, developing its product infrastructure to make a diverse range of Ayurvedic medicines available to a multi-national audience.
Its signature Ayurvedic health retreat, 'The Ayurvedic Healing Village' is one of the leading health retreats in Asia, and among the best wellness centers in the world.
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"Since, Ayurveda in general has become so popular, and people have accepted it as an alternative system of medicine which people can follow and practice, Kairali has gained a lot of acceptance from people all across the world," said Abhilash, who believes that the ulterior motive of the health retreat is to reach out to people in terms of cure, wellness and treatment.
Adding to this, he said that the clients are well aware of the techniques, systems and practices used at the wellness centre.
"By now, they know about our practices of knowing the dosha's and then treating them. So, in terms of acceptance, it is vast and welcoming," he said over the acceptance the brand has received so far.
Recently, Kairali Group hosted India's first Ayurveda-based Chef's Retreat, the 'Healing Recipes-Back to Roots' in Palakkad, Kerala where culinary experts showcased 120 years of collective experience of ancient food wisdom and philosophy through modern culinary practices.
"I'm delighted with the feedback that I have got for the retreat. I would say that this is the first step towards creating a database of wealth and knowledge for the practicing of Ayurveda," he said while giving his closing remarks for the retreat.