New Delhi: In these times of pandemic, when the government should be perceived as responsive and sensitive, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman seems to be suggesting otherwise. On Sunday, she virtually ruled out exempting Covid vaccines, medicines and oxygen concentrators from GST, saying such exemptions will make the lifesaving items costlier for consumers as manufacturers will not be able to offset the taxes paid on inputs.Currently, domestic supplies and commercial imports of vaccines attract a 5 per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST), while COVID drugs and oxygen concentrators attract a 12 per cent levy.
The Finance Minister’s response came after Mamata Banerjee wrote to PM Modi on Sunday asking that all life-saving drugs, equipment and instruments required to treat Covid-19 patients be exempted from GST. It was Banerjee’s third letter to PM Modi – since being sworn in for a third term on Wednesday. Incidentally, Congress working president Sonia Gandhi had also made a similar demand.
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