Exempt GST on Covid vaccine: Naveen

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday requested the Centre to exempt Goods and Services Tax (GST) on Covid vaccine.

In a letter to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, he urged to exempt GST on Covid vaccine as states are required to purchase the vaccine directly from the producers.

Patnaik has demanded that the Centre should share the Central Cess collections with State to support the fight against Covid pandemic.

He said that the additional resources raised through various Cess and Surcharge on petrol, diesel, liquor, etc. which are exclusively available to the union government may be suitably shared with States at this critical juncture for long sustained effort required to fight Covid19 pandemic.