Medical equipment worth crores stuck at ports

Critical medical equipment is stuck at different ports in the country as the Central Medical Stores Depot (CMSD) lacks the money to pay the port charge, customs duty and transport expenses.

The state-owned agency needs to pay over Tk 25 crore, including customs duty (CD) VAT and transportation costs, to get the goods, but there is no budgetary allocation for this expenditure, people familiar with the matter said.

The CMSD, responsible for procuring medical equipment for public hospitals, recently sent a letter to the Finance Division asking for money to get the equipment released from ports. The agency is also seeking a deferred payment facility in this regard.

The equipment stuck at ports includes nine crore disposable syringes with needles bought from China and other critical equipment received under the Global Fund, the world's largest financier of AIDS, TB, and malaria prevention, treatment, and care programmes, according to Health Services Division officials.

They said with each passing month, the required charges to get the products are increasing. Besides, the quality of the equipment is falling, and the warranty period is getting shorter.

In a letter to the National Board of Revenue (NBR) sent via the health ministry, the CMSD said, “A letter has been sent to the Finance Division seeking budgetary allocations amounting to the outstanding amount considering national interests. The payment will be subject to the receival of the allocation.”

The CMSD also asked the NBR for the necessary approval for the release of the goods on the basis of deferred bill payments without any fines.

According to sources, no budget is allocated to pay the required dues of any procurement outside of the CMSD’s operational plan (OP), donations from other countries and donor organisations, and procurement by line directors.

“There is no budget allocation to pay the relevant charges for medical supplies brought in through donations or procured by line directors. Hence, we are faced with a financial crisis in getting the products released,” Health Services Division Additional Secretary Nilufer Nazneen told The Business Post.

“A letter has been sent to the finance ministry asking for money to solve the problem. Similarly, the NBR has been asked not to impose additional charges for the delay in payment,” she added.

Of the stuck goods, the syringes were procured by the line director of the Maternal Neonatal Child and Adolescent Health (MNCAH) unit under the Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA).

According to sources, in order to release the goods from ports, the CMSD will have to pay Tk 11.29 crore in warehouse rents or port charges to Biman Bangladesh Airlines against six consignments of auto disable (AD) syringes, Tk 2.06 crore to the customs in CD-VAT, and Tk 1 crore in transport charges.

If the warehouse rents are not paid between February 28 and March 19 (tomorrow), Biman will continue to increase the fines for non-payment.

Meanwhile, the CMSD does not have the necessary funds to pay the CD-VAT, port charges, and transportation expenses required to redeem the goods received from the Global Fund either.

Officials said Biman transported 16 consignments of the equipment donated to Bangladesh under the Global Fund. In order to release the items from ports, the CMSD will have to pay Tk 4.84 crore in warehouse rents, Tk 6.87 crore in CD-VAT, and Tk 50 lakh in transport charges.