Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday chaired the 45th meeting of the Goods and Service Tax (GST) Council in Lucknow. FM announced the GST Council's decision to give tax concessions on life-saving drugs. There will be no GST on Amphotericin B, Tocilizumab till December 31 this year. Concessional GST rates on Covid-related drugs, which were till September 30, have now been extended till December 31 only for medicines, but not for medical equipment. The proposal of reducing GST from 12% to 5% on seven more drugs till December 31, 2021 was also approved: Itolizumab, Posaconazole, Iniximab, Bamlanivimab and Etesevimab, Casirivimab and Imdevimab, 2-Deoxy-D-Glucose and Favipiravir.
The FM announced that two groups of ministers will be constituted to look into certain changes in the GST regime. One group would look at rate rationalisation issues and submit a report in two months, while the second group will look into related issues of e-way bills, fastags, technology, compliance, composition schemes. The GST compensation cess will need to be extended till March 2026. The GST Council exempted national permit fee charged by states for operation of goods carriage.
A reduction in GST rate on biodiesel supplied to OMCs for blending with diesel from 12% to 5% was also announced. The Council also approved increasing GST on railway part and locomotives to 18% from the current 12%. An inverted duty scheme on footwear and textiles will be corrected from January 1, 2022, the FM noted. Now 12% GST will be applicable on specific renewable devices and pens will now attract single GST rate of 18%. GST rate on fortied rice kernels which can be used in Integrated Child Development Services Scheme has been reduced from 18% to 5%.
GST Council discussed bringing petrol and diesel under GST regime but decided against putting petrol and diesel under GST. For import of Aircraft on lease, IGST paid has been exempted, the finance minister said. Food aggregators will also come in the tax ambit now, the GST Council decided.
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