UNIFICATION of the tax rates in India’s states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu and the implementation of VAT at a rate of 2% will help boost the cardamom business in Kerala, according to A Jayathilak, chairman of the Spices Board. “This will facilitate the entry of more local dealers from Kerala to the small cardamom trade,” Dr Jayathilak said in a letter to the agriculture production commissioner of Kerala. “The cumulative effect will be more recovery in prices to the growers due to increased demand arising out of more bidders in the e-auction. The Spices Board is committed to issuing more small cardamom dealer licenses to increase bidding participation in the e-auction,” he said... Read More