The Indian Staffing Federation has asked the government to lower goods and services tax on staffing companies from the current 18% to 5% besides seeking separate industry status for the sector to help them avail certain special privileges, reports the Economic Times. “Staffing companies generate employment and in a majority of the cases these are low-level jobs with average salaries of under INR 18,000 (USD 246.00). So in line with the philosophy of the GST council, the rate applied should be the lowest slab,” Lohit Bhatia, president, Indian Staffing Federation said in its pre-budget expectations to the government. “This will save cash flow problems for the staffing industry and the government will save time and adjustments,” Bhatia said. According to Bhatia, the existing TDS (tax deducted at source) rate is 2% which needs to be reduced to a statute rate of 0.05%. Further, Bhatia said there is a need to recognise staffing as a separate industry rather than being part of professional services. “This will allow staffing companies to seek certain privileges keeping in mind the low margins and high cash outflow that they make when compared to other professional services companies,” Bhatia added.