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. Odisha had earlier announced free vaccination against COVID-19 for all citizens of the state in the age group of 18 to 44 years. It has also allowed state governments and private hospitals to purchase vaccines from manufacturers.

Source: Mint May 06, 2021 14:11 UTC