Experts are questioning Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s statement that the vaccine would be costlier by lowering the GST by 5% on the vaccine. Experts say that to give the benefit of input tax credit to the producers, it is not necessary to keep the GST rate at 5 per cent. It can be reduced by 1% or even more.
Scientists at Ksin should reduce the GST rate of
GST expert is Bimal Jain, can be reduced without doubt the GST on the vaccine. The GST Council has its powers. The central government should call a meeting of the GST Council in view of the pandemic emergency and reduce the GST rate on the vaccine. So that people get the vaccine at a lower cost. For this, the rates on raw materials used in vaccines should also be reduced if needed.
The need to reduce tax on essential medical equipment is also being reduced to
12% GST on oxygen concentrator and ventilator. At the same time, CA Kirti Joshi, chairman of Indore CA branch, says it is not necessary to keep the vaccine in 5% slab for GST input credit. The government can also do this by taking its rates to the lowest level. The Central Government has this right on the recommendation of the GST Council.
At the same time, Finance Minister Sitharaman Nirmala had said that if the vaccine was given full exemption from GST, the producers would not be able to take input tax credit. They will pass the burden on the consumers by increasing the cost of the vaccine.
Indore CA branch chairman Kirti Joshi, who is on the expert panel, and Bimal Jain, chairman of the PHD Chamber of Commerce, said that the GST Council may reduce the tax rate on the vaccine. This can be reduced to 0.10% on the lines of merchant export. By doing this, the producers will get input tax credit. The surplus tax paid by the producer on the raw material can be given a cash refund in the inverted duty structure.
