Until September 30, the GST Council has reduced rates on essential Covid goods.

The GST Council has reduced the tax rate on medical grade oxygen, BiPAP equipment, oxygen concentrators, ventilators, and pulse oximeters from 12 percent to 5%, according to finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

Remdesivir, Tocilizumab, medical-grade oxygen, oxygen generators, ventilators, masks, COVID testing kits, oximeters, hand sanitizers, cremation furnaces, ambulances, temperature checking devices, and other items were all subject to pricing decreases. These reductions are in effect through September 30.

The council agreed on a rate cut for Remdesivir from 12 percent to 5%; however, there will be no tax on Tocilizumab and Amphotericin, which treat black fungus mucormycosis.

According to the Ministry of Finance, the conference was attended by Anurag Thakur, Minister of State for Finance, as well as finance ministers and senior officials from the states and union territories. The GST Council meeting today had a single-point agenda, debating the group of ministers' suggestions.

According to West Bengal finance minister Amit Mitra, the imposition of GST on medical products such as personal protective equipment, hand sanitizers, and oxygen used for covid-19 treatment is anti-people and draconian.

Mitra's proposal comes after the GST council resolved earlier in the day to decrease taxes on many medical items, including oxygen, ventilators, and testing kits, from 12 percent to 5%, ambulances from 28 percent to 12%, cremation furnaces from 18 percent to 5%, and two medications from 5% to 0%. Several states, including West Bengal, have asked for a complete tax exemption on covid medical goods.

Earlier in the day, Punjab finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal and Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia both requested a total tax exemption on all covid-related medical supplies until the end of the pandemic, protesting the continued imposition of GST on several items, albeit at a lower rate.