New Delhi: The GST Council on Saturday slashed the tax rate on COVID-19 medicines such as Remdesivir and equipment like oxygen concentrators and medical grade oxygen.
While GST on Tocilizumab and Amphotericin B is slashed to nil from 5 per cent, the rate on Remdesivir and anti-coagulants like Heparin is lowered from 12 per cent to 5 per cent.
Tax on medical grade oxygen, oxygen concentrators, ventilators, BiPAP machines and high flow nasal cannula (HFNC) devices has been cut to 5 per cent from 12 per cent, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.
Also, tax on Covid testing kits has been brought down to 5 per cent from 12 per cent.
Pulse oximeters, hand sanitisers, temperature check equipment and ambulances too will attract lower 5 per cent tax, she said.
The much anticipated tax rate on vaccines remain unchanged at 5 per cent.
She said that the Centre will be paying and receiving 75 per cent of all the tax collected on it that will be further distributed with states. She had earlier said that exempting vaccines from GST would deny input tax credit on raw material and supplies that could impact its pricing.
(With inputs from PTI and IANS)
