Covid-19 pandemic: Odisha seeks GST exemption on purchase of vaccines

Odisha also asks for financial assistance to states from the cess and surcharge collected by the Union government from various products

Seeking the Centres active

cooperation in the fight against the pandemic, Odisha Thursday demanded exemption of GST on purchase of vaccines and financial assistance to states from the cess and surcharge collected by the Union government from various products.

Noting that states have been asked to purchase vaccines from their resources for inoculating people between the ages of 18 and 45, Patnaik said, these purchases attract the Goods and Service Taxes (GST), making the vaccines costly for the states.

In a letter to Union Finance Minister NIrmala Sitharaman, Patnaik wrote, "I hope the above suggestions will be examined and urgent necessary action is taken in view of the emergency health situation in the country and to strengthen our unified fight against Covid."

If vaccines are exempted from GST, it will reduce the cost on the part of the states and facilitate the drive towards universal vaccination, the chief minister said.

"In this long and sustained effort required to fight COVID-19, it is important that the states are supported so that the entire country fights as one. Lack of finance should not affect any state affecting the entire country in turn," he said.

The Odisha chief minister also suggested that the additional resources raised through various cess and surcharges on petrol, diesel, liquor, and other items, which are exclusively available to the Union government, "maybe suitably shared with state governments at this critical juncture".

"This will strengthen our fight against the pandemic including provision of vaccinations, free treatment, undertaking preventive measures, and so on," Patnaik said.

Highlighting that India is going through a tough phase in fighting the pandemic, the chief minister said, "It is a war-like situation and all our resources should be focussed on winning this war against corona. This is not going to be a one-time battle, we will have a sustained challenge in this fight against Covid till serious advances are made in treatment and vaccination".

In a related development, Patnaik sanctioned an additional amount of over Rs 7.50 crore to Puri, Subarnapur, and Sambalpur districts from the Chief Ministers Relief Fund (CMRF) for COVID management.

While an additional fund of Rs 2 crore was sanctioned for Puri district, Rs 1 crore has been sanctioned for Subarnapur district and Rs 4.62 crore for Sambalpur district, the Chief Ministers Office said in a release on Thursday.

Earlier, the Chief minister had released an amount of Rs 14.59 crore for Puri district, Rs 2.50 crore for Subarnapur district, and Rs 11.50 crore for Sambalpur district to tackle the pandemic.