Vaccine prices could be lower as Centre may waive GST charges

New Delhi, Apr 29: The Centre is likely to waive off GST charges on COVID-19 vaccines to reduce the cost in an attempt to ease the burden on the people.

The Centre is considering waiving off the 5 per cent GST on COVID-19 vaccines, reports have suggested. The government has already waived import duty on most pharmaceutical raw materials that are required to manufacture drugs for the treatment of COVID-19.

On April 21, Serum Institute had announced it would price its Covishield vaccine at Rs 400 per dose for state governments and Rs 600 for private hospitals. Bharat Biotech said that it would charge its Covaxin for states at Rs 600 per dose for the state government, while the private hospitals would have to pay Rs 1,200 per dose.

On Wednesday, Serum Institute of India while reducing the price of its vaccine for the state government said, "as a philanthropic gesture on behalf of @SerumInstIndia, I hereby reduce the price to the states from ₹400 to ₹300 per dose, effective immediately; this will save thousands of crores of state funds.

This will enable more vaccinations and save countless lives."

The Union Government's vaccine drive for persons aged 45 and above is lower in cost. It is free in the government hospitals, while in the private hospitals, the vaccines are priced at Rs 250.