India: Ahead of the 43rd Goods and Services Tax (GST) meeting scheduled for today, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday demanded that the centre to waive off GST from all life-saving medicines and equipment being used in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Congress leader who has been a vocal critic of the Modi government for the mismanagement of the pandemic took to Twitter where she shared a list of GST applicable on 15 items ranging from Alcohol based hand sanitizers, hand wash, soaps, cotton mask, PPE kits, to COVID-19 vaccine, Remdesivir, and other COVID drugs, ventilators and artificial respiration devices.
Along with the list, she wrote,” At the time of the pandemic, collecting GST from people troubled for COVID related products like ambulances, beds, ventilators, oxygen, medicines, vaccines, is cruelty and insensitivity. Today in the GST Council, the government should waive off GST on all life-saving medicines and equipment being used in the fight against COVID.”
As per the schedule, Nirmala Sitharaman chairs the 43rd Goods and Services Tax meeting virtually today from 11 am. The Council is likely to levy a 12 % tax on the import of oxygen concentrators for personal use, sources report. However, Tax experts state that the Council may decide to exempt IGST on such imports as the revenue implications would not be much.
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