Inclusion of Petroleum products in GST also discussed in the council
AMN / LUCKNOW
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said reduced GST rates on COVID medicines have been extended till 31st December from 30th September.
Briefing media after 45th Meeting of the Goods and Services Tax, GST Council in Lucknow, Ms Sitharaman said, Zolgensma and Viltepso are two very expensive Life saving drugs which cost around 16 crore rupees. She said the council has decided to grant exemption from GST for these two drugs. Some drugs suggest by Ministry of Health have also been exempted.
The Council also reduced GST from 12 to 5 percent on cancer related drugs and Seven other medicines. GST was also reduced on bio diesel from 12 to 5 percent.
GST on retro-fitment kits for vehicles used by Divyangs has been reduced to 5 percent. GST rate on fortified rice kernels which can be used in schemes like Integrated Child Development Services Scheme has been reduced from 18 percent to 5 percent.
The Finance Minister said, some decisions have been taken on import of aircraft or other goods on lease to avoid double taxation. In order to reduce inversion and help domestic manufacturing, 12 per cent GST has been recommended on specified renewable energy devices which will help the Atmnirbhar Bharat initiative.
Petroleum products also came into discussion of the council following a Kerala High order but Council members said it clearly that they don’t want these products to come under the ambit of GST. The Council has decided to report back to the Court.
On the expected lines, the GST Council also decided to charge services by cloud kitchens and food delivery platforms like Zomato and Swiggy a 5 per cent GST. The food delivery aggregators will have to collect and deposit 5 per cent GST with the government, in place of restaurants, for deliveries made by them, the finance minister said. “There is no extra tax, there is no new tax,” revenue secretary Tarun Bajaj added.
“To curb the tax evasion, GST Council has proposed to make the food delivery apps like Zomato Swiggy liable to pay GST at 5 per cent as deemed suppliers of restaurant services with effect from January 1, 2022. By doing so, the Government should be cautious of not adding to the burden by creating another layer of input tax credit blockage already suffered by this sector,” said Geetika Srivastava, executive partner, Tattvam Advisors.