The government has exempted customs duty on imports of COVID-19 vaccines till March 31, 2023, in a bid to ensure domestic availability amid fears of a surge in coronavirus infections.
In a notification, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) said COVID vaccines, when imported into India by central government or state governments, would be exempt from the whole of customs duty from January 14, 2023, till March 31, 2023.
The government had, in April 2021, first exempted COVID-19 vaccines from 10 percent customs duty. The exemption was extended several times till June 2022.
With new variants causing a significant rise in daily caseload in certain countries, including neighbouring China, the government had re-introduced certain precautionary measures, like random passenger testing at airports and genome sequencing, to check COVID spread in India.
Currently, COVID vaccines administered in India include Covishield, Covaxin, Sputnik V, Corbevax and Covovax.
Check out our in-depth Market Coverage, Business News & get real-time Stock Market Updates on CNBC-TV18. Also, Watch our channels CNBC-TV18, CNBC Awaaz and CNBC Bajar Live on-the-go!
Rapido offers free rides to voters to polling stations on May 13 in Hyderabad, 3 other cities
May 6, 2024 5:49 PM
Lok Sabha elections 2024: Seats to date, all you need to know about third phase of voting
May 6, 2024 4:49 PM
Concerns on low voter turnout a "myth"; absolute number of voters correct way to analyse: Report
May 6, 2024 2:57 PM
Haryana Lok Sabha elections 2024: A look at JJP candidates
May 6, 2024 2:26 PM