Recently the economic scene of India has changed drastically with the introduction of GST(Goods and Services Tax). The introduction of the GST has been fatal to many small scale industries. Some products and services have been given exemption under GST. The floral industry also comes under this category.

The Far-Reaching Floral Design Industry

“Splendid is the flower”-Lord Tennyson. Flowers are a big part of everybody’s life. From a string of flowers to a floral arrangement, the floral industry is a vast one. It involves a lot of workforce and many other businesses like the ornamental paper manufacturers, artificial flowers and decoratives manufacturers, textiles, aroma products, etc. The key element in this field is to have extensive knowledge about flowers, plants, soil, nutrition, and temperature control. The floral design industry not only means arranging flowers and selling them to customers. One should possess a solid understanding of the business and economics starting right from procuring the raw materials, managing cost, planning profit, marketing to managing customers. Along with the creative side, a person should also know how to run a business successfully.

Key Components Of Floral Business And The Impact Of GST

The floral business is very volatile as the raw materials being mostly flowers and leaves are seasonal and perishable. Training in horticulture and floriculture will help during such instances. Click Here – To know more about the impact of goods and services tax. To run a lucrative business, it is important to have a

• A good business plan based on the availability of flowers in the locality, good marketing, and advertising strategy
• A good investment strategy that will include the fixed capital and working capital and an overdraft or cash-credit facility.
• A suitable working space and amenities required for the business, like a good refrigerator as flowers are perishable, a big workspace to ample space to store the raw materials.
• An extremely creative mind to be the forerunner in the industry.

The good part about this whole business is that GST does not apply to cut flowers and leaves. Cut flowers, buds, flowers suitable for ornamental purposes, fresh, dried, bleached, impregnated, dyed, or otherwise prepared do not attract GST.

This is the case for export too. There are no taxes levied for the export of fresh flowers or buds.

Chapter 6 of the HSN code refers to the live trees, plants, bulbs, roots, cut flowers, and ornamental foliage. All the commodities that fall under HSN code 0601 are exempted from import duty too as they fall under the plant quarantine regulations.

Live plants and cuttings come under HSN code 0602 whereas cut flowers, buds that are used for bouquets come under HSN code 0603. They are also exempted from import duty.

All these said, does it mean the floral design industry does not incur any tax at all? Yes, indeed, they do not have an applicable GST, but the accessories that are used for the business like the ornamental paper, artificial flowers, and decoratives, textile material, etc have GST ranging from 12% to 18%. This will reflect in the charges of the florists. These charges also will include transport charges too which are always subject to fluctuations pertaining to the fuel prices.