LIVE: Petrol, diesel won't be brought under GST yet, says Sitharaman

Coronavirus live updates: RBI says India's economy is set for 'escape velocity' from the pandemic; China preps for vaccine shots.

12:52 AM

Majority of Council opposed bringing petroleum products under GST: Sitharaman

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said that a majority of state governments opposed the inclusion of petroleum products under the GST.

 

Addressing the media after the conclusion of the Council's 45th meeting -- and the first held in a physical format after start of the Covid-19 pandemic, she said that the issue was deliberated at the meeting, after it was added to the agenda at the last moment on the back of a Kerala High Court order.

 

Sitharaman said the Council members did not see find the current situation appropriate to bring petroleum products under the GST. It was widely speculated that such a move might be initiated to lower the record high prices of petrol and diesel.

11:38 PM

Hopeful that petrol, diesel will come under GST in near future, says PHD Chamber

PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) is very hopeful that if not now then in the near future petroleum products will be brought under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) ambit.

 

"If petroleum products are brought under GST there will be no direct benefit as the petroleum price will remain the same," Sanjay Aggarwal, President PHDCCI told ANI.

 

Aggarwal said that currently many states are opposing bringing petrol, diesel under GST. They fear losing the revenue but when GST was introduced it was basically to ensure that there is no multiplication of taxes. The industry is not able to get any input tax credit.

 

"As far as the consumer is concerned, there will be no direct benefit. Even if the GST is becoming applicable to all petroleum products, the petroleum price will remain the same. But as far as the trade industry is concerned, if there is the transportation cost on account of fuel, we are not getting an input tax credit".

11:02 PM

Swiggy, Zomato to collect 5% GST on deliveries, food not to get dearer

The GST Council on Friday approved a proposal to treat food delivery apps such as Zomato and Swiggy as restaurants and levy 5 per cent GST on supplies made by them.

 

Such food delivery apps will now be required to collect 5 per cent GST, or Goods and Services Tax, from consumers instead of the restaurant they pick up orders from, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Friday evening after the Council meeting.

 

There would be no extra tax burden on the end consumers taking food delivery from restaurants registered with the GST. However, the levy will plug tax evasion being done by unregistered restaurants.

 

The changes will be effective from January 1, 2022 to allow the e-commerce operators time to make changes in their software for such tax to be charged.

10:33 PM

GST Council extends lower tax rate on COVID drugs till Dec 31; compensation to states to end in June 2022

The GST Council on Friday extended concessional tax rates on COVID-19 medicines, cut tax on cancer drugs and waived GST on import of highly expensive medicines for muscular atrophy, but will continue to keep petrol and diesel out of the uniform national tax regime.

 

The Council, which is headed by the union finance minister and includes representatives from all states and UTs, decided to charge services by cloud kitchens and food delivery platforms like Zomato and Swiggy a 5 per cent GST.

 

From January 1, food delivery apps will have to collect and deposit 5 per cent GST with the government, in place of restaurants, for deliveries made by them. There would be no extra tax burden on the end consumer.

10:00 PM

GST Council extends period for concessional rates on Covid medicines

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said that applicability of concessional GST rates on Covid-19-related medicines has been extended till December 31, 2021.

 

The duty exemption and concessional rates for Covid and related medicines was applicable till September 30.

 

Addressing the media after the conclusion of the Council's 45th meeting, and the first in a physical format after start of the Covid-19 pandemic, she said: "We have taken a few people friendly decisions...,"

 

Sitharaman said that the council has granted tax exemption on drugs to treat muscular atrophy imported for personal use only, and reduced the duty on drugs for cancer treatment from 12 per cent to 5 per cent.

8:17 PM

Petrol, diesel won't be brought under GST yet, says Sitharaman

 Govt will report to Kerala HC that GST Council felt that “it wasn’t the time to bring petrol, diesel under GST”, says FM

 

8:06 PM

Two key Covid drugs exempted from GST, says FM Sitharaman

7:59 PM

FM announces further GST relief for anti-Covid drugs till Dec 31

7:57 PM

People-friendly decisions taken during GST council meet, says FM

7:53 PM

FM Nirmala Sitharaman speaks on outcomes of GST Council meeting

 

7:52 PM

J&K records 155 new cases as Covid surges

The upward surge in Covid spread continued in J&K on Friday, with 155 new cases were reported during the last 24 hours with the Srinagar district reporting around two-thirds of these, IANS reported.

 

Officials said that 22 cases were reported from the Jammu division and 133 cases and one death from the Kashmir division while 135 patients were discharged from hospitals after recovery.

 

Officials said 96 new cases were reported in Srinagar district as the authorities brought another affected area into the micro-containment zone.

 

7:12 PM

Goa CM attacks state Cong chief Chodankar over vaccine hesitancy

The BJP on Friday attacked Goa Congress chief Girish Chodankar for claiming that the state government's announcement of 100 per cent first dose coverage of eligible beneficiaries was false as he and his family were yet to get inoculated because they had "certain doubts", PTI reported.

 

His statement, made at a press conference on Thursday, led to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant advising him to shun negativity about the vaccination process and help in efforts to tackle the pandemic.

6:51 PM

Kerala reports 23,260 fresh cases

6:17 PM

FM may announce further GST relief for anti-Covid drugs shortly

 

5:58 PM

Andhra Pradesh reports 1,393 new cases

5:18 PM

Ladakh reports 6 new cases

Ladakh recorded six new COVID-19 cases on Friday, taking the infection tally to 20,631, officials said, according to PTI.

 

Five Covid patients were discharged from hospitals on Wednesday, taking the tally of cured people to 20,385, they said.

 

There are 41 active Covid cases in the Union Territory, including 38 in Leh and 3 in Kargil.

5:16 PM

On PM's birthday, India sees record 20 mn vaccinations so far

4:48 PM

Total shots administered in India expected to cross 1 bn by mid-October: report

4:16 PM

Delhi reports 33 new cases

4:11 PM

On PM's birthday, India sees record 15 mn vaccinations so far

3:50 PM

'Australia's Covid response saved tens of thousands of lives'

Australia's coronavirus response has saved tens of thousands of lives, the government claimed on Friday, IANS reported.

 

According to data released by the federal government, Australia has the second-lowest Covid-19 death rate in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) with 0.75 fatalities per 100,000 people.

 

By comparison, the death rate between February 24 and September 14 was 93 per 100,000 in the US and 89.4 in the UK.

3:33 PM

Odisha reports 628 fresh cases

3:09 PM

Khurda, Cuttack account for over 57% of 628 new Covid cases in Odisha

Khurda and Cuttack districts accounted for over 57 per cent of the 628 new COVID-19 cases detected in Odisha on Friday, a health official said, PTI reported.

The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC), on the other hand, sealed two government offices for two days after several employees tested positive for the infection.

Though the overall COVID situation in the state has improved substantially, the detection of a large number of cases in Khurda, and its constituent Bhubaneswar, remains a cause of concern, he said.

2:28 PM

SC dismisses plea challenging Kerala govt move to hold class 11 exams physically

1:47 PM

India sees over 10 mn vaccinations till 1:30 pm today

1:43 PM

Sri Lanka extends Covid-19 lockdown till October 1

Sri Lanka on Friday again extended its nationwide lockdown till October 1, amidst a surge in the number of COVID-19 cases and mounting pressure from medics to step up efforts to fight the raging third wave of coronavirus, PTI reported.

 

The government took the decision following a top-level meeting chaired by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Friday.

 

President Gotabhaya had ordered a 10-day lockdown on August 20.

1:01 PM

China reports another 62 cases

China has reported another 62 cases of Covid-19, even as the number of Chinese citizens fully vaccinated has topped 1 billion, the AP reported. All but one of the cases was detected over the previous 24 hours in the eastern coastal province of Fujian in China's latest outbreak of the delta variant, the National Health Commission said on Friday.

 

11:34 AM

India's Covid recovery rate at 97%

India’s active Covid-19 cases--patients under treatment--comprise 1.02 per cent of total infections, said the health ministry on Friday. More than 97 per cent of people infected recover, it said.

11:08 AM

251 children among new Covid cases in Mizoram

Mizoram recorded 1,121 new cases of Covid-19 and 254 deaths from the disease in 24 hours, PTI reported on Friday quoting the state’s information department. At least 251 children were among the new cases.

10:56 AM

77 million children missed school in pandemic: UNICEF

At least 77 million children were shut out of the classroom in 18 months of the pandemic, creating a worldwide education crisis, said the UNICEF on Thursday. The international agency will not use its social media channels for 18 hours to send one message to the world: #"reopenschools”.