MP: Health Associations and Activists Demand GST Waiver on Medical Equipment

Bhopal: Health associations and activists from Madhya Pradesh have demanded the Centre and the State Government for the waiver of Goods and Services Tax (GST) on medical kits and life-saving medicines to help the fight against COVID-19.

The GST council has levied between 5% to 18% taxes on items ranging from medicines to masks, which are essential in the fight against the novel coronavirus pandemic. Activists and associations have the Union government to call for a meeting of the GST council and waive the tax, keeping public good in mind.

The council has set the following rates of GST on items that are essential for countering COVID-19:

“Due to State Good and Services Tax (SGST) and Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST), these life saving essentials have become costlier. So, for the sake of public health, Governments should tinker and waive the taxes,” said S.R. Azad of the Jan Swastha Abhiyan.

He added that the government should also encourage companies that manufacture PPE kits,gloves, sanitisers and masks and help increase production to meet the demand.

Madhya Pradesh has been trying to grapple with the pandemic. By last week, the pandemic had spread to 25 out of 55 districts in the state. Indore and Bhopal alone account for 80% of the cases and the state has 1,355 people who have tested positive for COVID-19 so far.

“In a situation where the state is in the grip of a pandemic, the State government should not only wave the SGST but also urge the GST Council to waive CGST taxes from life saving kits and medicines,” said medical expert Amitabha Guha.

“It will ultimately benefit the state Government because the government is distributing most of the items for free and taxing its own items. This makes no sense,” he added.

The Madhya Pradesh chapter of the Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (JSA) has also written a letter to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and urged the government for relief from GST on essential medical equipment. The letter also demanded that the state government fixes the prices of essential commodities and food items.

In their letter, the JSA said that medicines and equipment attract 18% GST, making them expensive, and that the government should do away with the GST for public good.

Referring to food items and rations, the letter highlighted that the state should bring essential food items under price control to prevent the exploitation of the common man by the traders. The two steps will help the common man and go a long way in the state’s fight against COVID-19, it said.

Commenting on the matter, Secretary of Madhya Pradesh Medical Representative Association Shailendra Sharma said: “India is supplying Hydroxychloroquine drug to other countries to help them during the pandemic. But, ironically, it is charging tax on this item from its own citizens.” Sharma added that those who are donating PPE kits and other life-saving essentials like ventilators, are paying a hefty tax of 12% on purchase. It means the Government is making money from donations too, he mentioned.