Parliamentarian Dr. Shashi Tharoor recently expressed his appreciation to Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs Vivek Johri, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and her Personal Secretary, for the collective efforts and resultant waiver of the Goods and Services Tax usually imposed on an injection for cancer treatment.
The Member of Parliament wrote, “A young couple approached me about their baby daughter, Niharika, who was suffering from a rare form of cancer for which the only treatment was an injection that cost 65 lakhs of rupees. They had scrounged and saved and borrowed and crowd-funded to raise the money required but when they imported the drug, they needed an additional 7 lakhs for GST that they could not afford. When they approached me I wrote to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on March 15 asking her help to exempt them from the GST on humanitarian grounds. When there was no reply they approached me again on Sunday (March 26th); the injection was stuck at Mumbai airport but Customs would not release it without the GST payment.
I called Mrs Sitharaman directly this time. I told her this baby depended on her exercising her authority immediately because the drug was perishable and would expire while in the custody of Customs. She was instantly sympathetic. She hadn’t I saw my letter so I resent it. Within half an hour her PS, Sernya Bhutia, called to tell she had spoken to the Chairman of the Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs. Within ten minutes Chairman Vivek Johari called me asking for more documentation. By 7 pm today the exemption was granted.
The family will get their injection, the baby will live, and our exchequer will sacrifice 7 lakhs in GST income to bring life and joy to a small child.
Whenever I am assailed by doubts about spending so much of my life in politics, something like this happens and makes it all worthwhile. Thank you Nirmala-ji, thank you Sernya and thank you Vivek. You have reaffirmed my faith in government, in politics, and above all in humanity. Jai Hind.”
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