Article 31 of the GCC Common VAT Agreement specifies the tax treatment for essential goods. Clause I establishes that all food items are subject to the standard VAT rate by default. However, it provides Member States with the discretion to apply a zero rate to specific foodstuffs included in a unified list approved by the Financial and Economic Cooperation Committee. Clause II mandates that medicines and medical equipment shall be subject to the zero rate. This treatment is based on unified provisions which are to be proposed by the Committee of Ministers of Health and approved by the Financial and Economic Cooperation Committee.