Staff Reporter
The GST Council has decided to slash the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on cancer drugs by reducing the rate from 12 per cent to 5 per cent. The decision was made at the 54th GST Council meeting held in New Delhi today.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman chaired the meeting, which was also attended by Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary and Finance Ministers of the states. Briefing the media in New Delhi, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the decision to reduce the GST rate on cancer drugs aims to lower the cost of cancer treatment. She said GST on selected snacks has been reduced from 18 per cent to 12 per cent.
The Minister said that funds given for research to universities established by central and state governments, and those that have obtained income tax exemption, are exempt from GST. The Finance Minister said the GST Council today decided to set up a Group of Ministers (GoM) to consider reducing the tax rate on life and health insurance.
She said, the Group of Ministers on GST rate reduction for medical health insurance will submit its report by the end of October this year, and a meeting to be held in November will decide on the issue of rate reduction.
The GST Council has also agreed to form a Group of Ministers on compensation cess. Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman mentioned that the Group of Ministers on rate rationalization and real estate submitted status reports today, including a report on online gaming and casinos. She also noted that revenue from online gaming has increased by 412 percent amounting to 6,909 crore rupees in six months.