GST Council has agreed to stick to the 5% tax rate on vaccines, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Sunday after chairing the 44th GST Council meeting.

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The GST Council on Saturday slashed the tax rate on COVID-19 medicines such as Remdesivir and equipment like oxygen concentrators and medical grade oxygen.

While GST on Tocilizumab and Amphotericin B is slashed to nil from 5%, the rate on Remdesivir and anti-coagulants like Heparin is lowered from 12% to 5%.

Tax on medical grade oxygen, oxygen concentrators, ventilators, BiPAP machines, and high flow nasal cannula (HFNC) devices has been cut to 5% from 12%, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.

The council has cut down tax on Covid testing kits to 5% from its current 12%.

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Pulse oximeters, hand sanitizers, temperature check equipment, and ambulances too will attract lower 5% tax, she said.

The Finance Minister also added that the GST on electric furnaces and temperature checking equipment has been brought down to 5%. 

The 44th GST Council meeting was attended by the Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur, finance ministers of states and Union territories, and senior officers from Union government and states.

As expected, tax relief on COVID-19 essentials and medication for black fungus remained on top of the meeting agenda. The council also discussed the report on GST concessions on COVID-19 relief items headed by Meghalaya Deputy Chief Minister Conrad Sangma.

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The GST Council in its previous meeting on May 28 had left taxes on COVID-19 vaccines and medical supplies unchanged but had exempted duty on import of Amphotericin B — a medicine used for the treatment of black fungus.