|
FOPE urges govt to reconsider decision to increase customs duty on specialty & fine chemicals from 10 to 150%
|
|
Nandita Vijayasimha, Bengaluru
August 02 , 2024
|
|
|
The Federation of Pharmaceutical Entrepreneurs (FOPE) is concerned over the recent increase in customs duty on specialty and fine chemicals from 10 per cent to 150 per cent. The announcement came in during the Union Budget 2024, presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on July 23.
Such a steep rise can have significant implications for the pharmaceutical industry, particularly for specialty and fine chemicals, which are crucial in drug development and production, pointed out FOPE.
Given the potential ramifications, the dramatic escalation in customs duties on specialty and fine chemicals from 10 per cent to 150 per cent, FOPE has urged the Union government to reconsider this decision, said Harish K Jain, president, FOPE and director, Embiotic Labs and Chakravarthi AVPS, sr vice president (national) and chairman, FOPE Telangana & Andhra Pradesh.
In its communication to the government, FOPE stated that the industry relied heavily on speciality and fine chemicals for testing evaluation and as a catalyst in chemical reactions. The unprecedented hike in customs duty will significantly increase the cost of these essential chemicals, thereby escalating the production costs of the pharmaceutical products.
The increased production costs will inevitably be transferred to consumers leading to higher prices for essential medications. This will place an additional financial burden on patients and could potentially reduce access to life saving drugs, particularly affecting the economically weaker sections of society, said Jain.
Pointing out that besides the impact in the cost of production and healthcare, Chakravarthi said that the steep increase in the duty could stifle innovation by making it financially unviable for many companies to continue their research. This would hinder the development of new drugs and therapies. The increased duty will also reduce their competitiveness in the market, potentially leading to business closures and job losses.
Here FOPE representing the pharma industry and allied sectors predominantly the MSMEs (micro small and medium enterprises) has requested the Ministry of Finance to reconsider the decision to increase the customs duty on specialty and fine chemicals, stated Jain.
The Federation also went on to submit its requirements which it hoped would be favourably considered. These are the implementation of increase in customs duty in a phased manner over a more extended period. This would allow industries to adapt and mitigate the impact on production costs and consumer prices, stated Jain and Chakravarthi.
Further, FOPE in its communication called to provide duty concessions or exemptions for speciality and fine chemicals used in critical sectors like pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and lifesciences research and development activities, said Chakravarthi.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
TOPICS
|
That foods might provide therapeutic benefits is clearly not a new concept. ...
|
|
|
|
|