Industry seeks decrease in duty on IV drips

Official says additional duty imposed to promote local production of medical equipment


Usman Hanif December 04, 2020

Traders have expressed concern over the additional duty imposed on intravenous (IV) drip chamber, which is used in treating a wide range of diseases including Covid-19, and demanded that the government remove the duty.

Recently, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) highlighted names of certain devices, including the IV chamber, in an SRO for changing additional duty on them, said Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) Standing Committee on Customs Chairman Sheikh Muhammad Tariq.

In a statement on Thursday, he pointed out that the device was being used by doctors, nurses and medical staff to deal with contagious diseases. In most cases, the IV chamber, also called glucose bottle chamber, played a significant role in saving human lives, he added.

Tariq pointed out that the equipment was displayed under the name of IV chamber in the notification issued by the government. Medical scientists and physicians, especially the emergency staff and medical stores, use or sell it under the same name.

Lately, the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) expressed the desire to promote domestic production of medical equipment, which was the prime reason behind imposition of the duty, said Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA) former chairman Kaiser Waheed.

Talking to The Express Tribune, he regretted that there was only one company in Pakistan, which was involved in the production of IV kits and it too was struggling.

“For any business to succeed, the producer needs an environment of growth which comes with the real will of promotion of local industry and not just a wish,” he said. “In technical terms, IV chambers are difficult things to produce and until Pakistan achieves sufficient production of the equipment, there is no need to impose additional taxes on it.”

Officers of Karachi Customs, who are unauthorised and unrelated to the medical line, either refuse clearance of the equipment by giving it a new name or demand payment of additional duty on it, said Tariq.

He stressed that hurdles in the way of clearance of IV chamber would be similar to playing with human lives.

“It is clear that diagnostic tools and vaccines are as important as life-saving drugs and sometimes they prove to be more effective than them,” said Tariq.

The medical emergency staff had been vocal about the shortage of IV chambers for the past many decades and since the second wave of Covid-19 was battering the country, the issue needed to be addressed on an urgent basis, he said.

“Government should relax all kinds of duties on import of pandemic-related drugs and medical equipment in line with its policy to contain the disease on an emergency basis,” said Pakistan Industrial and Traders Association Front (PIAF) Chairman Mian Nauman Kabir.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 4th, 2020.

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