Artwork or just 'goods'?

Worried emails have lately been flying back & forth among and from artists in New Delhi and Mumbai

Over recent weeks, worried emails have been flying back and forth between and from artists in New Delhi and Mumbai as they grapple with the complexities of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). If before its announcement it was the likely rate of tax that had them worried, now it is its implementation that is giving them sleepless nights. GST, by their reckoning, is anything but simple and has added to their load of paperwork. At a recent party, almost everyone present lamented art being labelled as “goods”, and therefore the artist its “manufacturer”.

This was the point made by