Reduced GST Rates On Covid Medicines Extended Till Dec 31: Nirmala Sitharaman
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday announced that the GST Council has decided to extend the concessional rates on drugs used in COVID-19 treatment till December 31, 2020. The previous deadline was September 30.
On June 12, the GST Council, chaired by Ms Sitharaman had reduced the tax rates on most of the COVID-19 medicines and equipment and announced that no tax will be levied on the medicines for treating Black Fungus.
The Revenue Department of the Finance Ministry had said that the GST rates are lowered for 18 Covid-related supplies and concessional rates.
The tax cut was based on recommendations by a Group of Ministers amid the pandemic, whose crippling effects on the economy has also hurt household finance, the GST Council - a constitutional body that decides rates for the GST - had said.
The Council had decided that no tax will be levied on medicines like the monoclonal antibody Tocilizumab and Amphotericin B, used for treating Black Fungus, a fungal disease that affects people infected with Covid.B. Earlier, the GST rates on these medicines stood at 5 per cent.
The Council had also cut rates on anti-coagulants such as heparin and Remdesivir - a drug for treating COVID-19, from 12 per cent to 5 per cent.
Additionally, tax rates on gas, electric, other furnaces for the crematorium, including their installation were reduced from 18 per cent to 5 per cent.
The GST rates on ambulances were reduced from 28 per cent to 12 per cent. The tax rates on hand sanitiser was lowered from 18 per cent to 5 per cent, while rates on temperature check equipment was reduced from 18 per cent to 5 per cent.
Covid vaccines, however, continue to be charged a GST of 5 per cent. There were also no tax cuts on raw material for Covid testing kits.
There were no changes in the GST rate of some items being charged at 18 per cent, such as RT-PCR machines, RNA extraction machines and genome sequencing machines. Genome sequencing kits that are being charged at 12 per cent will continued to be charged at the same rate.
-
High US Salaries, No Green Card Certainty: The Financial Calculation Facing Indian H-1B Families
The suspension of PERM processing at eight technology employers does not cancel existing H-1B visas. What it does is force a question many Indian families have been avoiding: is the US salary worth tying your career and family plans to one employer?
-
Swiggy vs Eternal: Food Delivery's Two Rivals Are No Longer In The Same Race
Eternal is building a private AI assistant, dark.ai. Swiggy is still working out how to make Instamart pay, with an operating loss of Rs 895 crore in the July-September quarter while Blinkit stayed profitable.
-
Where You Live Shapes How You Get To Work | The Reason Why
Two-wheelers are the most popular way to get to work in India, accounting for nearly 43% of workplace commutes.
-
Unhedged Position: Can India See An Indonesia-Style Time Correction?
The Nifty is trading below levels it first clocked in 2024. Is there, then, as I have suggested in the headline, potential that the current time correction drags on painfully for the next three-five, even ten years?
-
Navigating Friction And Energy Realities: An Analysis Of Marco Rubio's October Visit To India
Occurring at a critical juncture marked by stalled trade negotiations and escalating geopolitical pressures over global energy supplies, the visit offers a profound window into modern US-India relations.
-
India Exports Capital. Why Not Export Trusteeship?
The big question, then, is whether India can build an institution that global borrowers, investors, banks, and lawyers can trust, even without an Indian connection.
-
France's Economy & Politics Are In Crisis | The Reason Why
Let's look at how the French economy and politics evolved under Nicolas Sarkozy, Franois Hollande and Emmanuel Macron.
-
You May Inherit The Business. You Must Earn Its Credibility.
Succession tests the founder's ability to share authority as much as it tests the next generation's readiness to assume it.
-
Signing Deals Is One Thing; Making Them Work Is Another | The Week In Whys
Sometimes, things don't turn out as planned. Indian companies have lost some bids to rivals, some projects won't produce until 2030.
-
FOMC Wall, PERM Suspension, Hospital Stocks | Talking Points This Week
A PERM suspension would directly affect green-card sponsorship rather than H-1B visas, so the near-term earnings impact could remain relatively limited. The key question is whether this marks a new phase in US scrutiny of Indian IT.
