Flood relief material from abroad exempted from customs duty, GST: Goyal

New Delhi : Finance, Coal and Railway Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday said the relief material coming from foreign countries for distribution in flood-ravaged Kerala have been exempted from the customs duty and the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

"The government is committed to help Kerala in this time of devastation," Goyal told the media here.

"...we have made all the relief materials coming from foreign countries for the Kerala flood relief exempt from customs duty as well as GST," he said.

On August 18, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Rs 500-crore financial assistance to the state.

Earlier, Home Minister Rajnath Singh during his visit to state also announced a financial assistance of Rs 100 crore.

Following the devastating floods, over one million people are now sheltered in 3,274 relief camps in the state. The death toll during this monsoon season is estimated at around 370.