Indian Government Likely to Introduce Covid-19 Cess

According to the latest reports, the Indian government is quite likely to introduce a coronavirus cess or surcharge on individual taxpayers. The Covid-19 cess will be introduced in the upcoming Union Budget that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present on 1 February, 2021. It must be noted that the cess may be levied on the higher income groups only. 

The update has arrived as the center has commenced its first phase of nationwide coronavirus vaccine, the cost of which will be borne by the government. Archit Gupta, Founder and CEO, ClearTax stated that with the coronavirus vaccination backdrop in mind, expecting any tax reliefs would be unfair. He also confirmed that the government of India may choose to bring in a Covid-19 cess or some other similar cess of between 2% to 4%. The novel coronavirus cess may be made applicable to higher income brackets so as to cover money spent on meals and other assistance to the poorest. Also involved may be the costs to vaccinate every individual in 2021 and further. It is likely that if not individuals, businesses may face this cess.

On the imposition of Covid-19 cess, Pratik Jain, the leader at indirect tax practice at PwC India, spoke, "According to me, if they want to collect more money and fund expenses for vaccines, in this case, it would be broad-based. It will not remain limited to few products and would not be applied on the tax component, but base value.”

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Disclaimer: This article is issued in the general public interest and meant for general information purposes only. Readers are advised not to rely on the contents of the article as conclusive in nature and should research further or consult an expert in this regard.