VAT on anti-TB drugs manufacturing likely to go

The government is going to withdraw Value Added Tax (VAT) on anti-tuberculosis drugs at the manufacturing stage, taking into consideration the ability of domestic companies in its production.

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) earlier withdrew VAT on anti-tuberculosis drug imports in June last year but there is now no exemption in VAT for domestic medicine production.

The Health Service Division and the Office of the Line Director of Tuberculosis-Leprosy and AIDS STD Programme sent two letters to the NBR in this regard requesting to withdraw VAT at the manufacturing stage in a move to get life-saving medicine at a lower price.

The NBR officials said that the board always plays a pivotal role in the capacity building of domestic companies and production. They now think to withdraw VAT on anti-tuberculosis drugs at the manufacturing stage to build the capacity of the local manufacturers.

Earlier, life-saving drugs are mostly dependent on imports as the local companies did not produce them within the country. So, the board provides withdrawal of VAT at imports not at the manufacturing stage, the officials said. Drug manufacturers said that Bangladesh is developing in the production of tuberculosis medicine which is undoubtedly a success for the industry.

If domestic pharmaceutical companies are exempted from VAT at the production stage for manufacturing tuberculosis drugs, it will be possible to source more drugs within the government’s allocated funds on this end and it will also generate employment as well as save forex reserve, they added.

Health Minister Zahid Maleque on World TB Day said that the government is providing tuberculosis treatment free of cost and the good news is that tuberculosis drugs are being manufactured in Bangladesh.

The minister, at an event organised by the National Tuberculosis Control Program of the Department of Health and USAID’s Alliance for Combating TB in Bangladesh (ACTB) program icddr,b, said 95 per cent of tuberculosis patients recover completely.

He said the government alone cannot control TB in Bangladesh before 2030.

Currently, every year about 3 lakh people get infected with tuberculosis and more than 40,000 people are dying of TB in Bangladesh every year, the minister said.

Drug makers say that if the revenue board brings the provision in the budget to expand the industry, it will be fully controlled.

Patients are increasing day by day as the detection is increased due to a massive awareness among the people and the rapidly accurate detection is available in the country through nationwide Gene Expert Machines.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Bangladesh is one of the 30 countries with the highest number of tuberculosis patients in the world. More than 100 people die of tuberculosis every day in the country.

In Bangladesh, Popular Pharmaceuticals Company Limited, ACI HealthCare Limited, Novartis (Bangladesh) Limited and Chemist Laboratories Limited now manufacture anti- tuberculosis drugs.