Govt may end zero duty on Covid equipment imports

ISLAMABAD:

The Commerce Division is working on a plan to end duty exemptions on import of Covid-19 related machinery and material, as the country receives another batch of 500,000 vaccine doses gifted by the Chinese government.

A senior commerce ministry official told The Express Tribune that the cabinet had tasked the ministry to work on removing exemptions on import of Covid-related material in bid to protect the local industry.

At present, the local industry is manufacturing Covid-related equipment and material and paying 17% general sales tax. The zero-duty regime for the import of Covid-related machinery had made the local products uncompetitive.

The government had exempted 61 diagnostic support and personal protective equipment (PPEs) from all duties and taxes in March last year. However, the local industry started manufacturing the equipment, the cabinet meeting held last week was informed.

Because of the local production, a cabinet minister called for contribution in kind, instead of cash, to the Covid related funds. The ministers also pointed out that the zero duty on import of Covid-19 related equipment had made the local products uncompetitive.

They said that government should review the zero-duty regime. The local manufacturers are paying 17% sales tax, which puts them at a disadvantageous position. Following discussion, the cabinet has directed the commerce division to review the proposal and submit its recommendations.

Vaccine prices

The government has withdrawn its decision to allow the private sector to fix prices of Covid-19 vaccines and delegated such power to the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP). The government is importing vaccine to administer free jabs to the people in phases.

There was a need to enable private sector to import vaccine to administer to those segments of the society, who were not ‘on the immediate priority established by the government, under strict medical supervision in private healthcare facilities.

No reliable price information was available at this point in time. Moreover, vaccine manufactured by different companies might differ on the use of technologies and number of shots required for immunisation.

In view of the situation, the cabinet considered that fixing maximum retail price of vaccines under paragraph 4 of Drug Pricing Policy-2018 was not possible, it allowed exemption from Section 12 of the Drugs Act, 1976 for a period of 6 months or until the market prices of vaccines became available.

A notification in this regard was issued on February 2, 2021. Later the matter of prices of vaccines in the market was discussed in a meeting of the National Command and Operation Committee (NCOC) on 10 February, 2021.

The NCOC meeting expressed its apprehensions that the vaccines might be sold or administered at very high prices if the rates were not regulated. However, it also emphasised that the process of fixing maximum retail prices be amended keeping in view the urgency of the situation.

More vaccine arrives

The development comes as another batch of 500,000 doses of Sinopharm coronavirus vaccine from Pakistan’s “iron brother” China landed at the Nur Khan Airbase, the Ministry of National Health Services Regulations and Coordination said.

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan and officials from the health ministry were present at the base to receive the vaccine doses. Thanking China for its generous gift, Dr Sultan said Beijing has always shown unwavering support for Islamabad in times of need.

Separately, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian has said that China will continue to work with Pakistan to strengthen anti-epidemic cooperation including vaccine cooperation and to contribute to building a global community of health for all.

 

The remark came during a regular news briefing in Beijing in response to the administration of the China-made Sinopharm vaccine to President Dr Arif Alvi and First Lady Samina Alvi in Islamabad.

Noting the relevant reports, the spokesperson said, China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic partners. “Pakistan is the first country to receive the Chinese aided vaccines in the world, which reflects our special friendship, and which also represents new highlights in our practical cooperation,” he added.

Meanwhile, Planning Minister Asad Umar, who heads the NCOC, said on Wednesday that the vaccination campaign was going on in full swing. "Highest daily vaccination rate of over 41,000 vaccinations achieved yesterday," Umar tweeted, adding that 28,424 of them were senior citizens.

Currently, the country is grappling with the third wave of pandemic. The NCOC said in its daily bulletin that the number of active Covid-19 cases came down to 22,792 on Wednesday, with 2,351 more people tested positive for the virus and 2,853 people making full recovery in the last 24 hours.

It said that 61 coronavirus patients died during past 24 hours, 56 of whom were under treatment in hospital, including 22 on ventilators. During the last 24 hours most of the deaths had occurred in the Punjab followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P).

 

(WITH INPUT FROM APP)