Single-window tax at APMCs
The 2015 proposal
A single-window, uniform tax at APMCs replacing multi-point market fees, with prices online 24×7.
Where it stands in 2026
GST (2017) unified indirect tax and Agmarknet publishes daily prices for ~3,000 markets. But mandi fees remain a state subject and still vary widely (Punjab historically ~8.5% vs ~1–2% elsewhere).
The open gap
Uniform market charges across states are only partly achieved.
The path to close it
GST unified indirect tax; the wedge that remains is the patchwork of state mandi fees (Punjab historically ~8.5% versus ~1–2% elsewhere). Push a model fee cap and a single unified market charge that clears across states — the e-NAM unified-licence idea — through the inter-state council, and rebate the fee into market infrastructure. Borrow the EU single-market principle already cited for abolishing inter-state barriers.
Sources
- ↗ GST e-way bill system — Goods & Services Tax Network
- ↗ Agmarknet — daily mandi prices — Directorate of Marketing & Inspection, Govt. of India
- ↗ Agricultural Policies in India — OECD, 2018
- ↗ Agricultural Policy Monitoring and Evaluation 2023 — India — OECD, 2023
- ↗ Towards One Agricultural Market in India: Does the ICT Help? — Springer (peer-reviewed chapter), 2020
- ↓ Salient Features of the Model Act on Agricultural Marketing — Directorate of Marketing & Inspection, Government of India, 2003