Govt proposes waiving duty on 100 more raw materials of cancer medicines
The government has proposed waiving duty on at least 100 types of raw materials to facilitate access to cancer treatment.
Currently, there is a duty of 5-15% on raw materials.
During his budget speech for FY2024, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said, "I propose to include one hundred more raw materials of cancer medicines in the existing notification [Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO)]."
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The finance minister placed the national budget of over Tk7.61 lakh crore for the next fiscal year (FY24) at the Jatiya Sangsad with a major focus on containing inflation, generating jobs, efforts towards building a 'Smart Bangladesh' and addressing the challenges of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR).
The possible budget size of Tk7,61,785 crore mainly aims at taming inflation alongside the higher GDP growth trajectory.
Speaking to The Business Standard, Monjurul Alam, director of Global Business Development at Beacon Pharmaceuticals, said, "This decision by the government will greatly help cancer and diabetes patients."
"In our country, we don't increase the price of medicines much. For a long time, we have been trying to keep the price of medicines affordable. But due to the increase in dollar prices, raw materials have become costlier," he added.
He further said, "A reduction in import duty will help us to prevent raising the prices of drugs, or keep the prices unchanged. It will make it easier for patients to get affordable drugs. We have not seen a tax rebate on import of raw materials of any drug at the moment."
