GST Council to meet Saturday, discuss tax exemption on Covid-19 essentials
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council is likely to consider the
taxation of Covid-19 relief essentials in its next meeting scheduled for June
12.
The meeting is expected to deliberate the exemption and concession
on Covid-related items, following the recommendation submitted by the Group of
Ministers (GoM) on Tuesday.
The GoM recommendation is yet to be made public, but it is learnt
that the issue of taxing the vaccine has been sent back to the Council.
However, it suggested temporarily reducing the GST rate to 5 per cent on
commercial imports and domestic supply of Coronavirus (Covid-19)
medicines and material, including medical oxygen, oxygen concentrators, pulse
oximeters and testing kits.
The GoM headed by Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma has not
made any concrete recommendations on vaccine rates, but the demand of some
states to lower it may be practically met after the change in vaccination
policy.
The Centre will now procure 75 per cent of all the vaccines
produced in the country and provide them to states for free. However, the
private procurement of 25 per cent of vaccines would require a payment of 5 per
cent GST. The issue of GST rate on vaccines will now be discussed in the upcoming
meeting.
The GoM includes Gujarat Deputy CM Nitinbhai Patel, Maharashtra
Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, Goa Transport Minister Mauvin Godinho, Kerala Finance
Minister KN Balagopal, Odisha Finance Minister Niranjan Pujari, Telangana
Finance Mminister T Harish Rao and UP Finance Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna.
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