Bhubaneswar (Odisha): Amid the surge of COVID-19 cases, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday wrote to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman urging the exemption of Goods and Service Taxes (GST) on the purchase of COVID-19 vaccine."The states have been asked to purchase vaccines out of their own resources to cover the 18 to 45 years age group of the population.
These purchases attract GST, making the vaccines costly for the state. Hence, GST needs to be completely exempted. It will reduce the cost for the state and facilitate our drive towards universal vaccination," Patnaik stated in his letter to Sitharaman.Patnaik also stated that the various cess and surcharges on petrol, diesel and liquor which are exclusively available.