Kerala CM slams Centre's GST hike on lottery, vows to protect sector

Thiruvananthapuram | Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday said the central government’s decision to raise the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on lottery tickets has dealt a severe blow to the state’s lottery sector.

"The GST on lottery tickets has been abruptly increased from 28 per cent to 40 per cent," Vijayan told reporters at a press conference here.

He said both he and Finance Minister K N Balagopal had repeatedly appealed—directly and through letters—to the Union Finance Ministry and the GST Council not to raise the tax rate.

"However, the Centre ignored all our requests, and that is what led to this steep tax hike," he added.

Vijayan stressed that the state government remains committed to protecting the lottery trade, which provides livelihoods to thousands of ordinary people who cannot find other jobs.

"Despite the fall in government revenue, we have decided not to raise the ticket price and to continue selling them at the existing rate," he said.

Even though the GST rate has been raised to 40 per cent, the chief minister said the ticket price would remain Rs 50. He added that this decision would cost the government Rs 3.35 per ticket in lost revenue—around Rs 3.35 crore per draw.

"To avoid a price hike, the government has cut costs in areas such as operational surplus, discounts, agency commissions, and prizes," he said, adding that around 60 per cent of total sales revenue is given out as prize money.

Vijayan also said the government is reviewing changes to agent discounts and agency commissions to reduce the impact.

"The state government is taking all possible steps to ensure that the GST revision imposed by the Centre does not hurt the workers and families who depend on the lottery sector," he added.