New Delhi: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday (May 9, 2021) wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and sought exemption of customs obligation and taxes on medical tools and COVID-19 related drugs.
In a letter, Mamata acknowledged that a big quantity of organizations and people have come ahead to donate oxygen concentrators, cylinders, cryogenic storage tanks, tankers and tank containers and COVID related drugs.Â
“However, many of the donors and agencies have approached the State Government to consider exemption of these items from customs duty, SGST, CGST, IGST,” Mamata wrote.
She added, “As the rate structure fells under the purview of the Central Government, I would request that these items may be exempted from CST/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 COVID pandemic.”
Mamata stated that the donations from these organizations will vastly complement the efforts of the State Government in assembly the large hole in demand and provide. Â
Mamata Banerjee’s letter to PM Modi comes a day after West Bengal registered its highest single-day COVID-19 deaths and instances. The state on Saturday recorded 127 new fatalities and 19,436 recent infections.
West Bengal has thus far witnessed 12,203 coronavirus-related deaths and 9,73,718 instances.
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