Pharmaceuticals reiterate call for zero duty on raw, packaging materials
Drug makers in Nigeria have, once again, called for 100 percent removal of tariff on their excipients, including raw and packaging materials.
The on-going Common External Tariff (CET) imposes between five and 20 percent duty on inputs used by Nigeria’s pharmaceutical companies while allowing zero duty on imported finished drugs.
Local drug makers say this, if left unchecked, could stifle them and destroy over N300 billion investments made so far in the sector.
Okey Akpa, chairman, Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Group of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), reiterated this call during a press conference to announce the ‘Nigeria Pharma Manufacturers Expo 2015’ which begins today at The Haven, Oba Akinjobi Street, GRA, Ikeja, and ends on Wednesday.
According to Akpa, an Import Adjustment Tax (IAT) of 20 percent should be levied on imported finished pharmaceutical products of HS Codes 3003 and 3004 immediately, as applied to other sectors where the country has capacity, in line with the CET guidelines.
The PMG-MAN chairman explained that the Nigeria Pharma Manufacturers Expo 2015 presents a unique opportunity for stakeholders in the health sector and other related industries such as foods, beverages, toiletries and cosmetics, to exchange information, products, services and ideas.
Nigerian businesses seek networking opportunities and technology transfer to grow margins and diversify. The expo will create new business opportunities while also bringing new exposure, latest machinery and equipment in all the related sectors. This is expected to serve as a catalyst for technology transfer.
“This year, we are expecting more than 120 exhibitors and delegates from France, Germany, India, China and other countries as well as over 3000 participants and guests, especially healthcare professionals from Nigeria and ECOWAS countries,” said the chairman, who is also the chief executive of SKG Pharma.
“In addition, relevant ministries, departments and agencies of government such as Federal Ministry of Health; Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment; National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control; Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON); Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN); and the Bank of Industry (BoI), are expected to participate,” he added.
The Pharma Expo was first held in Abuja in 2008 as ‘Pharma Manufacturers Day’. It was later hosted in Lagos in 2011 and 2013 as ‘Nigeria Pharma Manufacturers Expo’. The PMG-MAN boss said the event is sustained as part of activities targeted at achieving self-sufficiency in essential medicines in the country.
He maintained that the call for an imposition of 20 percent duty on imported finished drugs is necessary to protect local pharmaceutical manufacturers and encourage industrialisation, stressing that absence of self-sufficiency in essential medicines has national security implications.
But Lekan Asuni, president, Association of Nigerian Representatives of Overseas Pharmaceutical Manufacturers (NIROPHARM), disagreed, saying that the duty was only removed on medicines that cannot be manufactured locally. He said imposition of 20 percent duty on such drugs will make patients suffering from cancer, asthma, kidney and liver diseases pay more.
Howver, Akpa argued that Nigeria’s responsibility to minimise the effect of diseases on the economic, social and political stability of the country cannot be abdicated to imported medicines.
ODINAKA ANUDU