New Delhi : The government on Tuesday emphasised that Good and Services Tax will be rolled out from July 1 and preparations are in full swing for its smooth implementation, as it sought to dispel rumours of a possible deferment.
There have been demands from certain sections of the industry for a deferment of GST rollout. West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra too had proposed to postpone GST by a month.
“The Government of India has emphasised that GST is scheduled to roll out on July 1, 2017. The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) in coordination with the state governments have increased their outreach programmes so as to reach the last trader,” a finance ministry statement said, reports PTI. In a tweet, Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia said: “The rumours about GST implementation being delayed are false. Please do not be misled by it”.
Prices of many essential drugs to rise up to 2.29% post GST
New Delhi: Prices of majority of essential drugs will increase by up to 2.29 per cent when the Goods and Services Tax regime kicks in from next month. The government has fixed GST rate of 12 per cent on most of the essential drugs as against the current tax incidence of around 9 per cent. However, some select medicines such as insulin will see a reduction in prices with the government revising GST rate downwards to 5 per cent from 12 per cent proposed earlier. The National List of Essential Medicines includes the likes of Heparin, Warfarin, Diltiazem, Diazepam, Ibuprofen, Propranolol and Imatinib.
Drug price regulator NPPA has already notified that the revised ceiling prices of scheduled drugs, where excise duty is levied on MRP, will be calculated by applying a factor of 0.95905 to the existing ceiling price.
