GST Council meet
Black Fungus medicine exempted from tax, Centre decides at GST Council meet
New Delhi/IBNS: Amid the rising cases of Black Fungus, the medicine to treat the disease-Amphotericin B-has been exempted from integrated goods and services tax (IGST), the goods and services tax council decided in a meeting held on Friday after a gap of eight months.
The 43rd GST Council met under the Chairmanship of Union Finance & Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman through video conferencing here.
The meeting was also attended by Union Minister of State for Finance & Corporate Affairs Anurag Thakur besides Finance Ministers of States & UTs and senior officers of the Ministry of Finance & States/ UTs.
Sitharaman announced that the IGST is exempted on free COVID-related essential items till August 31, 2021.
"As a COVID-19 relief measure, a number of specified COVID-19 related goods such as medical oxygen, oxygen concentrators and other oxygen storage and transportation equipment, certain diagnostic markers test kits and COVID-19 vaccines, etc., have been recommended for full exemption from IGST, even if imported on payment basis, for donating to the government or on recommendation of state authority to any relief agency. This exemption shall be valid upto 31.08.2021," she said in a statement.
"Further in view of rising Black Fungus cases, the above exemption from IGST has been extended to Amphotericin B," she added.
To support the LympahticFilarisis (an endemic) elimination programme being conducted in collaboration with WHO, the GST rate on Diethylcarbamazine (DEC) tablets has been recommended for reduction to 5% (from 12%), the statement said.
"GST rate of 12% to apply on parts of sprinklers/ drip irrigation systems falling under tariff heading 8424 (nozzle/laterals) to apply even if these goods are sold separately," it added.
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