• The finance ministry clarified that the sale of the Indian National Flag, irrespective of whether machine made or of polyester, is exempt from the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

• Hand-woven, hand-spun national flags made of cotton, silk, wool or khadi are already exempt from GST. Polyester or machine-made tricolour too would be exempt from the levy following amendments to the ‘Flag Code of India, 2002’ in December last year.

• The clarification from the finance ministry comes in the backdrop of the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ initiative under ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ — celebrating 75 years of India’s independence.

• It envisages inspiring Indians everywhere to hoist the national flag at their home. The idea behind the initiative is to invoke the feeling of patriotism in the hearts of the people and promote awareness about our national flag.

The National Flag

• The National Flag is a tricolour panel made up of three rectangular panels or sub-panels of equal width. The colour of the top panel is saffron (kesari) and that of the bottom panel is green.

• The middle panel is white, bearing at its centre the design of Ashoka Chakra in navy blue colour with 24 equally spaced spokes. The Ashoka Chakra shall be completely visible on both sides of the flag in the centre of the white panel.

• The ratio of the length to the height (width) of the flag shall be 3:2.

• Freedom fighter Pingali Venkaiah was the designer of the Indian National Flag.

• The design of the National Flag was adopted by the Constituent Assembly of India on July 22, 1947.

• Apart from non-statutory instructions issued by the government from time to time, display of the National Flag is governed by the provisions of the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950 and the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971. 

Flag Code of India

The Flag Code of India brings together all laws, conventions, practices, and instructions for the display of the National Flag.

The Flag Code of India, 2002 was amended in December 2021, and tricolour made of polyester or machine-made flags have been allowed.

Flag Code of India, 2002, has been divided into three parts. 

First Part: General Description of the National Flag.

Second Part: Display of the National Flag by members of public, private Organisations & educational institutions etc.

Third Part: Display of National Flag by Union or state governments and their organisations and agencies.

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