CM seeks tax waiver on costly drug for toddler’s treatment

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his intervention to waive the Customs duty and Integrated Goods and Services tax on a costly drug to be imported

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his intervention to waive the Customs duty and Integrated Goods and Services tax on a costly drug to be imported from the U.S. for the treatment of an 18-month-old boy from Kannur afflicted by a rare disease. Highlighting the plight of the child suffering from spinal muscular atrophy, a genetic neuromuscular disease that causes the muscles to become weak and waste away, the letter said the drug used for gene therapy was prohibitively expensive and unaffordable for the family. Observing that the family was raising the required amount of ₹18 crore from donors, Mr. Vijayan appealed to the Prime Minister to issue directive to the Finance Ministry to exempt the life-saving drug, Zolgensma, from levies. He noted that the Centre had earlier waived taxes in a similar case of a five-month-old child from Mumbai who was suffering from the same condition.