The Bhutanese Leading the way.
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Amendment Bill of Bhutan was introduced as a Money Bill in the National Assembly by the Finance Minister, Lyonpo Lekey Dorji, on 18th May.
The Amendment Bill was introduced under Section 30 of the Goods and Services Tax Act of Bhutan 2020, which empowers Parliament to amend Schedule IV C ‘Other Exemptions’ by inserting or removing Bhutan Tariff Codes (BTC Codes) for goods to be exempted from GST.
Upon enactment, the legislation will be cited as the Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Act of Bhutan 2026 and will come into force on the day it was introduced by the Finance Minister in the National Assembly.
The Amendment Bill proposes the inclusion of twenty-two new BTC Code entries under Schedule IV C of the principal Act. The proposed entries fall under three substantive categories.
The first category covers edible cooking oils, with nineteen new items proposed for exemption. These include soya-bean oil, groundnut oil, olive oil and olive-derived blends, palm oil, sunflower, safflower and cotton seed oil, coconut and palm kernel oil, rape, colza and mustard oil, other fixed vegetable oils, and hydrogenated vegetable fats and oils.
According to the Bill, these oils are widely consumed by households across Bhutan and form a significant portion of the essential food basket. The proposed exemption is intended to reduce the cost of a basic dietary staple for households across all income levels, particularly benefiting lower-income families for whom edible oil accounts for a higher share of food expenditure.
The second category relates to rice. The amendment proposes the inclusion of two additional rice varieties under Schedule IV C, supplementing the one rice variety already exempted under the current schedule. The additional varieties include husked brown rice, red rice, and semi or wholly milled rice.
The third category concerns mobility aids for persons with disabilities. The Bill proposes the exemption of one additional mobility aid category, namely motorized or automated wheelchairs under BTC Code 8713.90.00. Manual or non-motorized wheelchairs are already exempted under the current Schedule IV C.
The Bill has been handed over to the Economic and Finance Committee for review and is expected to be reported to the National Assembly during the third reading on 26th May.
