NEW DELHI: The
GST Council
on Monday reduced the levy on some cancer drugs and travel by helicopters on a ‘seat-share basis’ to 5%, and lowered the tax on namkeen (fried snacks) from 18% to 12%. It also agreed to Centre’s proposal to exempt research and development (R&D) funded by private and public sources, including universities supported by central and state laws and those benefiting from income tax exemptions, from GST.
While GST was cut on namkeen and bhujia to make them more affordable, the
council
said that unfried or uncooked snack pellets will attract 5% tax.
The decision to offer helicopter service on ‘seat-share’ basis will benefit several flyers, especially those flying for pilgrimage to
Kedarnath-Badrinath
and Vaishno Devi. Helicopter charters will continue to attract 18% GST.
Decisions on reducing tax on health and life insurance, a move being closely watched, as well as extension of cess on certain goods and services beyond Jan 2026, were referred to two ministerial panels.
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman told reporters that there were long discussions on issues related to insurance, which resulted in the establishment of a ministerial panel led by Bihar deputy chief minister
Samrat Chaudhary
.
No relief for payment aggregators
The panel has been tasked with submitting its recommendations by Oct-end. The ministers discussed the need for exemption, threshold for the exemptions, how senior citizens should be treated, sale of group insurance by resident welfare associations, and several other aspects. Officers had earlier failed to arrive at a consensus on health insurance.
The Council was, however, unanimous in deciding on the issue of research funding to educational institutions set up under state or central laws as well as those that enjoy income tax exemption.
Similarly, it decided to lower the levy on cancer drugs Trastuzumab Deruxtecan, Osimertinib and Durvalumab from 12% to 5%. “With the increasing burden of chronic diseases in India, this is a move toward making life-saving drugs accessible and improving health outcomes. This is further to the import exemption of customs duty on cancer drugs announced during the recent budget and a step in the right direction,” said Sudarshan Jain, secretary general at the industry body,
Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance
.
While slashing GST on shared copter rides, the Council increased the levy on car and motorcycle seats from 18% to 28% and clarified that roof-mounted package unit air conditioners used in railways will also fall in the top slab. A decision on EV charging stations was deferred.
The GST Council also said that preferential location charges (PLC) paid while purchasing a residential, commercial or industrial unit will face the same levy as construction services.
There was bad news for payment aggregators, who have launched a social media campaign, as govt decided against any relief for them following notices sent last month. Revenue secretary
Sanjay Malhotra
said that the tax exemption is currently available only to banks.
