Indian govt let go of Rs 7 lakh in GST to save a baby girl’s life; here's what happened

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. 

The former Union Minister also said that each dose of the injection Dinutuximab Beta or Qarziba is currently imported at a humongous cost of Rs 10 lakh per vial. Baby Niharika has been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer known as High Risk Neuroblastoma (Stage-IV). As per the doctors’ estimates, Tharoor said that the total cost of the immunotherapy cycle would be around Rs 63 lakh.  He shared the letter and tweeted, “A #GoodNewsStory!”

Tharoor wrote to the Finance Minister seeking an exemption on GST citing humanitarian grounds. Tharoor further says that initially there was no reply to his letter and the injection was stuck at Mumbai airport since Customs would not release it without GST payment. 

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He further recounted the situation and wrote, “I called Mrs Sitharaman directly this time. I told her this baby depended on her exercising her authority immediately because the drug was perishable and would expire while in the custody of Customs. She was instantly sympathetic.”

He also said that soon after this, Sitharaman’s PS Sernya Bhutia reached out to him and said that she had spoken to the CBIC Chairman Vivek Johri regarding the same and that the family got an exemption by 7 pm on March 28. 

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“The family will get their injection, the baby will live, and our exchequer will sacrifice Rs 7 lakhs in GST income to bring life and joy to a small child. Whenever I am assailed by doubts about spending so much of my life in politics, something like this happens and makes it all worthwhile. Thank you Nirmala ji, thank you Sernya and thank you Vivek. You have reaffirmed my faith in government, in politics, and above all in humanity. Jai Hind,” Tharoor signed off. 

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