"Exempt Oxygen Tanks, Covid Meds From Taxes, Duties": Mamata Banerjee To PM

On Friday Chief Minister Banerjee wrote to Prime Minister Modi to highlight a potential oxygen supply crisis in the state

Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, asking for tax waivers on the import of medicines and equipment needed to fight the Covid pandemic. Ms Banerjee said "organisations, individuals and benevolent agencies" had offered aid - from oxygen concentrators and cylinders to cryogenic storage tanks and COVID-19 medicines. She urged the centre to exempt such items from GST and customs duty, so as to "encourage private aid". "... many of the donors and agencies have approached the state government to consider exemption of these items from duty/SGST/CGST/IGST. As the rate structure falls under the purview of the centre, I would request that these items may be exempted from GST/customs duty and other such duties and taxes, to help remove supply constraints..." she wrote. Donations like these, the Chief Minister stressed, would "greatly supplement the efforts of the state government in meeting the huge gap in demand and supply" of medical resources.