- Home
- Medical news & Guidelines
- Anesthesiology
- Cardiology and CTVS
- Critical Care
- Dentistry
- Dermatology
- Diabetes and Endocrinology
- ENT
- Gastroenterology
- Medicine
- Nephrology
- Neurology
- Obstretics-Gynaecology
- Oncology
- Ophthalmology
- Orthopaedics
- Pediatrics-Neonatology
- Psychiatry
- Pulmonology
- Radiology
- Surgery
- Urology
- Laboratory Medicine
- Diet
- Nursing
- Paramedical
- Physiotherapy
- Health news
- Fact Check
- Bone Health Fact Check
- Brain Health Fact Check
- Cancer Related Fact Check
- Child Care Fact Check
- Dental and oral health fact check
- Diabetes and metabolic health fact check
- Diet and Nutrition Fact Check
- Eye and ENT Care Fact Check
- Fitness fact check
- Gut health fact check
- Heart health fact check
- Kidney health fact check
- Medical education fact check
- Men's health fact check
- Respiratory fact check
- Skin and hair care fact check
- Vaccine and Immunization fact check
- Women's health fact check
- AYUSH
- State News
- Andaman and Nicobar Islands
- Andhra Pradesh
- Arunachal Pradesh
- Assam
- Bihar
- Chandigarh
- Chattisgarh
- Dadra and Nagar Haveli
- Daman and Diu
- Delhi
- Goa
- Gujarat
- Haryana
- Himachal Pradesh
- Jammu & Kashmir
- Jharkhand
- Karnataka
- Kerala
- Ladakh
- Lakshadweep
- Madhya Pradesh
- Maharashtra
- Manipur
- Meghalaya
- Mizoram
- Nagaland
- Odisha
- Puducherry
- Punjab
- Rajasthan
- Sikkim
- Tamil Nadu
- Telangana
- Tripura
- Uttar Pradesh
- Uttrakhand
- West Bengal
- Medical Education
- Industry
Import duty exempted on all drugs, food for special medical purposes for personal use to treat rare diseases
New Delhi: The government has exempted basic customs duty on all drugs and food for special medical purposes imported for personal use for treatment of rare diseases. The import duty waiver will come into effect from April 1. Also, the government has exempted Pembrolizumab (Keytruda), used in treatment of various cancers, from basic customs duty.
Drugs/Medicines generally attract basic customs duty of 10 percent, while some categories of life saving drugs/vaccines attract a concessional rate of 5 percent or Nil. "The Central Government has given full exemption from basic customs duty on all drugs and Food for Special Medical Purposes imported for personal use for treatment of all Rare Diseases listed under the National Policy for Rare Diseases 2021," a finance ministry statement said.
The rare diseases whose Drugs, Medicines or Food for Special Medical Purposes (FSMP) are exempted from customs duty are Lysosomal Storage Disorders (LSDs), Adrenoleukodystrophy, Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID), Chronic Granulomatous disease, Wiskot Aldrich Syndrome, Osteopetrosis, Fanconi Anemia, Laron's Syndrome, Tyrosinemia, Glycogen storage disorders (GSD) I, III and IV due to poor metabolic control, multiple liver adenomas, or high risk for Hepatocellular carcinoma, or condition of substantial cirrhosis or liver dysfunction, or progressive liver failure, Maple Syrup Urine Disease (MSUD),Urea cycle disorders, Organic acidemias, Autosomal recessive Polycystic Kidney Disease, Autosomal dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease, Phenylketonuria (PKU), Non-PKU hyperphenylalaninemia conditions, Homocystinuria, Urea Cycle Enzyme defects, Glutaric Aciduria type 1 and 2, Methyl Malonic Acidemia, Propionic Acidemia, Isovaleric Acidemia, Leucine sensitive hypoglycemia, Galactosemia, Glucose galactose malabsorbtion, Severe Food protein allergy, GH deficiency, Prader Willi Syndrome, Turner syndrome, Noonan syndrome, Acidemias, mitochondrial disorders, Acute Intermittent Porphyria, Wilson's Disease, Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia, Neonatal onset Multisystem inflammatory Disease (NoMID), Gaucher Disease Type I and III, Hurler Syndrome [Mucopolysaccharisosis (MPS) Type I], Hunter syndrome (MPS II), Pompe Disease, Fabry Disease, MPS IVA, MPS VI, Cystic Fibrosis., Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, Spinal Muscular Atrophy, Wolman Disease, Hypophosphatasia, Neuronal ceroid lipofuschinosis, Hypophosphatic Rickets, Atypical Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome.
Food for Special Medical Purposes is a food formulation intended to provide nutritional support to persons who suffer from a specific disease, disorder or a medical condition, as a part of their dietary management. In order to avail this exemption, the individual importer has to produce a certificate from Central or State Director Health Services or District Medical Officer/Civil Surgeon of the district.
While exemptions have already been provided to specified drugs for treatment of Spinal Muscular Atrophy or Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, the government has been receiving many representations seeking customs duty relief for drugs and medicines used in treatment of other rare diseases.
Drugs or Special Foods required for the treatment of these diseases are expensive and need to be imported. The ministry said it is estimated that for a child weighing 10 kg, the annual cost of treatment for some rare diseases, may vary from Rs 10 lakh to more than Rs 1 crore per year with treatment being lifelong and drug dose and cost, increasing with age and weight. "This exemption will result in substantial cost savings and provide much needed relief to the patients," the ministry said.
Read also: Duty hiked: Imported X-ray machines to get costlier from April 1
Ruchika Sharma joined Medical Dialogue as an Correspondent for the Business Section in 2019. She covers all the updates in the Pharmaceutical field, Policy, Insurance, Business Healthcare, Medical News, Health News, Pharma News, Healthcare and Investment. She has completed her B.Com from Delhi University and then pursued postgraduation in M.Com. She can be contacted at editorial@medicaldialogues.in Contact no. 011-43720751