Items used to combat coronavirus now duty-free
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) yesterday removed all forms of import duties and taxes imposed on personal protective equipment (PPE), raw materials used in hand sanitisers, coronavirus testing kits and re-agents, said an official notification from the revenue authority yesterday.
The moves comes amid public outcry on the shortage of testing kits and PPE materials in the country, where an increasing number of confirmed coronavirus patients are being reported.
As of yesterday, the number of confirmed coronavirus patients in the country rose to 27, leading to a scramble amongst the general public for hand sanitisers and other protective gear to protect themselves from the highly contagious pathogen.
In its notification, the NBR said that it will not charge any duty or tax on import of raw materials used to manufacture hand sanitisers, re-agents used to make COVID-19 testing kits and bulk buying of disinfectants to help contain the virus.
All PPE materials, such as surgical masks and gowns, used while treating coronavirus patients are also exempt from all forms of tax or duty, according to the gazette, signed by NBR Chairman and Senior Secretary of Internal Resources Division Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Muneem.
Certain items on the duty-free list had between 5 per cent to 128 per cent total tax incidence. This included customs duty, supplementary duty, regulatory duty, advance tax, advance income tax and VAT.
The duty-free benefit will be offered for these products when imported in quantities approved by the Directorate General of the Drug Administration (DGDA). The DGDA will also monitor the standard of the imported products, the NBR said.
"We noticed that for the last few days, there has been a shortage of the essential products needed to combat the coronavirus. In light of this circumstance, the NBR has removed all forms of tariffs on the import of such products," said Nurul Huda Azad, the first secretary (customs policy) of the NBR.
The duty-free privilege for the products will remain valid until June 30 this year, he added.
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