NEW DELHI – Mahua Moitra, a member of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), has pointed out the part that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee played in the recent decision by the GST Council to exempt individual life and health insurance policies from the Goods and Services Tax. Moitra posted on X (previously Twitter) on Thursday that the change was made because Banerjee pushed for it.
“Didi @MamataOfficial wrote to FM @nsitharaman on Aug. 2, 2024, asking for the 18% GST on life and health insurance policies to be taken away,” Moitra said. She said that the Finance Minister “has finally done it,” but she also cynically said that it was a means “to offset the pain from friend Doland’s 50% tariffs,” referring to President Donald Trump’s new tariffs. The last thing Moitra’s article said was that the “AITCofficial continues to fight anti-people policies.”
The Union government said on Wednesday that it would completely remove the GST on individual health and life insurance, putting them in the zero-tax bracket. The 56th GST Council meeting, led by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, approved this important change. It is likely to make insurance more inexpensive and available to a wider range of people.
Along with the insurance exemption, the GST Council also announced several additional adjustments that will make basic products and services cheaper for everyone. The tax on numerous important medical equipment, like thermometers, medical-grade oxygen, diagnostic kits, and glucometers, has gone down from 12% to only 5%.
Also, things like hair oil, shampoo, toothpaste, and soap that were in the 18% GST slab will now be taxed at 5%. In the same way, the rates for food items including butter, ghee, cheese, and pre-packaged snacks will go down from 12% to 5%.
The TMC has called the GST exemption on insurance a “victory for the common people” and said it was “taken from a government that only listens when forced.”