Health ministry wants Tk150cr to pay import duty on Covid-19 equipment

The health and family welfare ministry has sought Tk 150 crore from the government to pay import duty and VAT on coronavirus-related equipment and emergency instruments from UNICEF, World Bank, and PS Global Fund.

Senior Deputy Secretary Susil Kumar Pal wrote to Finance Secretary Abdul Rouf Thaludar to immediately release the fund from the emergency fund worth Tk 8,500 crore kept aside to deal with the pandemic in the outgoing fiscal year. The government will use the fund to procure vaccines from Russia and China.

According to the health ministry, the Central Medical Supply Depot (CMSD) received $71,297.92 under a UNICEF programme until April 12 for spending on Covid-19 related equipment and Covid-19 infected people’s treatments. In addition, the CMSD also received $19,34,923.67 from the World Bank to treat the Covid-19 patients in the rural areas.

However, the ministry did not mention in the letter the amount it received from the PS Global Fund.

In May 2020, the National Board of Revenue exempted Personal Protective Equipment and surgical masks (including face masks) from VAT list considering their necessity in the fight against coronavirus.

The revenue collecting authority issued a statutory regulatory order saying the VAT exemption on production, trading and supply level will be applicable till June 30, 2020.

On March 22 last year, the government exempted all taxes on coronavirus safety kits and raw materials to speed up their import.