Bhubaneswar: Seeking active cooperation of the Centre in the fight against the pandemic, Odisha demanded Thursday exemption of GST on the purchase of coronavirus vaccines and sought financial assistance to states from the cess and surcharge collected by the Union government from various products. At present five per cent GST is charged for coronavirus vaccines. States have been asked to purchase vaccines from their resources for inoculating people between the ages of 18 and 45.
Odisha Chief Minister wrote Thursday to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on this issue. “I hope the suggestions will be examined and urgent necessary action is taken in view of the emergency health situation in India 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 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.
PNN