18% GST on premium is brutal : Nilesh Sathe, IRDAI Member.
The levying of an 18% tax on insurance premiums is detrimental to improving the penetration of insurance in the country and should be rolled back, said Nilesh Sathe, member (life), IRDA.

With low social security provision happening or possible in India, charging premiums at 18 per cent GST (goods and services tax) is brutal, Sathe said in his keynote address. Do you think increasing penetration in India is the responsibility of IRDA or insurance companies only? It is the responsibility of every stakeholder, including the government, he said, adding that IRDA had informed the government that most other countries, including developed markets, “do not charge any tax on insurance premiums”.