Mamata Banerjee
Exempt oxygen tanks, Covid medicines from taxes: Mamata Banerjee writes to PM Modi
Kolkata/IBNS: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking him to waive tax on the import of medicines and equipment needed to fight the Covid pandemic.
She also called on the Prime Minister to strengthen health infrastructure and augment supplies of medicines as well as oxygen required for the treatment of Covid patients in Bengal and across India.
Banerjee urged the centre to exempt such items from GST and customs duty, so as to "encourage private aid".
"... many of the donors and agencies have approached the state government to consider exemption of these items from duty/SGST/CGST/IGST. As the rate structure falls under the purview of the centre, I would request that these items may be exempted from GST/customs duty and other such duties and taxes, to help remove supply constraints..." she wrote in the letter.
Donations like these, the Chief Minister noted, would "greatly supplement the efforts of the state government in meeting the huge gap in demand and supply" of medical resources.
This is her third letter to PM Modi on Covid crisis since being sworn in as the CM of Bengal for a third term on Wednesday.
On Friday she wrote a letter to highlight a potential oxygen supply crisis in her state.
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