COVID: Mamata urges PM to waive taxes, duties on medical equipment, drugs

KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting him to waive all forms of taxes and customs duty on equipment and drugs being used to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

Banerjee also urged Modi to strengthen health infrastructure and augment supplies of equipment, medicines and oxygen for treatment of coronavirus-positive patients.

"A large number of organisations, individuals and benevolent agencies have come forward to donate oxygen concentrators, cylinders, containers and COVID-related drugs.

"Many of the donors have approached the state government to consider exemption of these from customs duty, SGST, CGST, IGST," she said in the letter.

"As the rate structure falls under the purview of the central government, I would request that these items may be exempted from GST/customs duty and other such duties and taxes to help remove supply constraints of the above-mentioned life-saving drugs and equipment and contribute towards effective management of the COVID pandemic," Banerjee said.

She has been attacking the Centre for "failing" to control the spread of the disease in the country.