The outbreak of monkeypox has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Network (WHN).
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The suggested adjustments to the goods and services tax (GST) rate for more than 200 items will be discussed in a ministerial panel meeting the following week. According to a Business Standard report, the panel of government officials rejected requests for a reduction in the levy on more than 200 goods and services to lessen the burden of inflation on consumers while also proposing a change in the GST rate for several items, including tetra-packs.
The government committee may ask the state of Karnataka and Haryana to study the nature and taxability of various activities taking place in the crypto ecosystem. “During the meeting, it is likely to consider the fitment committee’s recommendations, which also call for raising the GST rate on tetra packs from the current 12 percent to 18 percent. “To bring uniformity in tax structure concerning other substitutes, such as cartons, plastic bottles, sachets and pouches, and plastic cups, the Council’s fitment committee, which is composed of revenue officials from the Center and states, recommended raising GST rate on tetra packs,” the report said.
The committee also suggested that the GST Council make it clear that some defense equipment imported by private organizations should be excluded from IGST where the end-user is the military and that electric cars would be subject to a 5 percent GST.
The government panel will meet in Chandigarh for two days starting June 28. Although it is doubtful that a rate would be decided upon at the meeting, discussions of including it in the highest tax bracket of 28 percent may occur, according to the sources.
According to the sources, the council, made up of the finance ministers of the federal government and the states, is attempting to expand the tax net to more effectively track transactions involving virtual digital assets.
To gauge the scale of the country’s cryptocurrency sector and keep tabs on users, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman enacted a 30 percent tax on revenue from the transfer of virtual assets and a 1 percent tax at source on all cryptocurrency transactions earlier this year. The action was perceived as resolving doubt over the legality of cryptocurrency transactions. Due to the ambiguity around whether digital currencies should be treated as products or services and the absence of a legal framework, there is still uncertainty over implementing a sales tax on them.
To decide whether to designate the worldwide monkeypox epidemic as a public health emergency, the WHO would conduct an extraordinary meeting on June 23.
“Monkeypox outbreaks are uncommon and alarming. To determine whether this outbreak constitutes a public health emergency of concern to the international community, I have decided to convene the Emergency Committee by the international health regulations next week, “Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organization, had told reporters.
Fifty-eight nations have currently recorded 3,417 confirmed cases of monkeypox, and it is spreading quickly across many continents.
The World Health Network (WHN) has declared the monkeypox epidemic a pandemic in the interim.
There is no way to stop the pandemic spreading quickly over several continents.
The viral family known as Orthopoxvirus includes both monkeypox and smallpox. A monkeypox virus first appeared in rodents and primates before spreading to humans. It was initially discovered in Africa, mostly in areas with tropical rainforests, but it is now spreading worldwide, notably in Western nations. According to the WHO, monkeypox often manifests clinically as fever, rash, and enlarged lymph nodes and may cause various medical issues. Typically, monkeypox is a self-limiting illness with symptoms lasting between two and four weeks.
Numerous transmission methods, including personal contact (touching an infected person, particularly the rash or postules), contact with contaminated items, clothes, bedding, and airborne particles, as well as close physical contact or sexual activity, are supported by the evidence.
Although the vast majority of early instances are often seen among homosexual, bisexual, or males who have sex with men. The UN health organization released a significant public health recommendation for homosexual, bisexual, and other men who have sex with males.
To expedite diagnosis for suspected infections of the virus that has already infected at least 142 individuals in the US, the Biden administration has begun distributing monkeypox testing to private laboratories.
According to British health experts, those males who have intercourse with other men and are most at risk of contracting monkeypox will begin receiving vaccinations.
The WHO had last week published a recommendation for viral immunization.
