Dubai- May 16, 2021:

The UAE expatriates can send Covid-related relief material to India without paying customs duty. The Ministry of Finance issued a notification on May3 exempting customs duty, integrated goods and services tax (IGST) and/or health cess on the import of a number of relief materials till June 30, 2021.

The government at the centre said it received a number of representations from charitable organizations, corporate entities, and other associations outside India seeking exemption from IGST on the import of Covid-19 relief material donated or received free of cost from outside India for free distribution. The relief items are already exempted from customs duty till June 2021.

Earlier, the government had also exempted the basic customs duty and health cess on certain Covid-19 related supplies, namely Remdesivir injections or active pharmaceutical ingredients (API), Beta Cyclodextrin and inflammatory diagnostic kits till October 31 and medical grade oxygen, cryogenic transport tanks, other oxygen therapy-related equipment and vaccines till July 31. The new ruling is beneficial for local community groups, businesses and individual expatriates who are keen to supply relief materials to India.

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