The INDIA bloc parties are set to stage a protest in the Parliament complex to press for the rollback of 18 per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST) on life and health insurance premiums.
Sources in the Trinamool Congress said that its MPs have raised the issue in Parliament and their party chief, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, has written to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on the matter. They also pointed out that union minister Nitin Gadkari also wrote to Sitharaman and urged her to consider withdrawing the GST which, he said, amounted to taxing the uncertainties of life and restricting the industry's growth.
In a written reply to a question by TMC’s Mala Roy, Minister of State (MoS) Finance Pankaj Chaudhary replied that certain insurance schemes catering to the poorer sections and differently abled are exempt from 18 per cent GST. These schemes are the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY), Universal Health Insurance Scheme, Jan Arogya Bima Policy, and Niramaya Health Insurance Scheme.
The minister said exemptions are prescribed on the recommendations of the GST Council, which is a constitutional body, comprising representatives from the Centre and the states and Union Territories. He said representations have been received requesting exemption or reduction in the rate of GST on life insurance and health insurance.
According to the minister’s reply, the GST collection from health insurance premiums and reinsurance premiums for FY 2023-24 was £826.29 mn and £148.43 mn, respectively. It was £ 535.42 mn and £82.59 mn in 2021-22, which increased to £763.83 mn and £96.32 mn in FY 2022-23.
