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Healthcare tax withdrawn as Lok Sabha passes Finance Bill
Tuesday March 22, 2011 07:20:08 PM,
IANS
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New Delhi:
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Tuesday withdrew the proposed 5
percent service tax on healthcare after protests from lawmakers and
the medical fraternity, even as the Lok Sabha passed the Finance
Bill 2011.
With the major opposition parties absent, the lower house of
parliament passed the Finance Bill, which mainly contains the
taxation proposals, by voice vote.
Earlier initiating the discussion, Mukherjee proposed to withdraw
the controversial 5 percent service tax on healthcare announced
while presenting the budget for 2011-12.
"I have decided to exempt the new levy in its entirety, both in
respect of services provided by hospitals as well as by way of
diagnostic tests until GST (Goods and Services Tax) comes into
force," Mukherjee said.
In the budget for 2011-12, the finance minister had proposed to levy
five percent tax on services provided by hospitals with 25 or more
beds that are centraly air-conditioned and on diagnostic tests of
all kinds.
The finance minister also gave excise relief to small scale firms in
the readymade garments business to tide over the impact of customs
duty.
He announced basic reduction of custom duty on raw silk from 30
percent to 5 percent.
Mukherjee said fiscal consolidation and maintaining reforms and
economic growth momentum has been given priority in the budget.
The government Tuesday introduced an amendment in the Lok Sabha to
facilitate the roll-out of the proposed Goods and Services Tax
regime.
Mukherjee said in the coming days three more bills -- the revised
Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Bill, the
Factoring and Assignment of Receivables Bill and the State Bank of
India (Subsidiary Banks Laws) Amendment Bill -- will be introduced.
The finance minister presented the federal budget of Rs.12.58 lakh
crore (Rs.12.58 trillion or $280 billion) last month and the debate
Tuesday was on one of its components -- the Finance Bill, 2011 --
which mainly contains the taxation proposals.
A section of opposition members, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) stayed away from the debate and did not participate in the
voting on the Bill.
The principal opposition parties demanded that the house first take
up for discussion a privilege motion against Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh over his WikiLeaks comments.
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