Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram and former diplomat Shashi Tharoor shared a heartfelt story of baby Niharika’s family who received Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s help to get a goods and services tax (GST) exemption worth Rs 7 lakh on cancer medication on Twitter. He said the parents sought his intervention through a letter and mentioned they needed an additional Rs 7 lakh for GST which was unaffordable for them. Their little girl has been diagnosed with High-Risk Neuroblastoma (Stage IV), a rare form of cancer.
The couple conveyed to Tharoor that the medication for their daughter attracted a GST charge of Rs 7 lakh, which they simply could not afford.
Tharoor requested help from Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to obtain a GST exemption of the said amount on the cancer medication. On March 15, Tharoor sent a letter to Nirmala Sitharaman asking her to exempt the couple from the GST on humanitarian grounds. The Thiruvananthapuram MP has even shared images of the letter he sent to the Finance Minister and an account of swift actions that helped the patient get medication in time.
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The child, who has completed certain stages of treatment, is still at significant risk of a potential relapse of the disease. The doctors had suggested immunotherapy treatment for her and administering of Dinutuximab Beta (Qarziba), in particular. This is an extremely expensive medicine, currently imported at a price of Rs 10 lakh per vial.
As per Tharoor’s letter, the cost of a full cycle of immunotherapy is estimated to be around Rs 65 lakh. The couple has managed to raise most of the funds through crowdfunding and donations. However, imported medicines being subject to GST added a significant burden of another Rs 7 lakh.
Tharoor made request on behalf of the parents because of the case’s genuine humanitarian nature, as well as the fact that this treatment could save the life of a young child.
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However, Tharoor did not receive a response from the office of the Finance Minister. Meanwhile, the couple approached Tharoor again on March 26 asking for his help explaining that the medicine was stuck at Mumbai airport for customs clearances due to non-payment of GST.
At this point, the Congress leader contacted the minister directly and informed her that since the injection was perishable and would expire soon, the baby’s life could only be saved with Sitharaman exercising her authority immediately.
He mentioned that the Finance Minister was sympathetic and within half an hour her PS, Sernya Bhutia, informed Tharoor that she had spoken to the Chairman of the Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs.
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Within the next 10 minutes, Chairman Vivek Johari asked Tharoor for more documentation, and by 7 pm on March 28, the GST exemption was granted.
Tharoor thanked the Finance Minister and her team for having reaffirmed his faith in government, politics, and in humanity.
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