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| Sunday, 22 September 2002 |
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Pharmaceutical prices to come down The Fair Trading Commission will fix a maximum retail price for pharmaceuticals because of the Government decision to exempt pharmaceuticals from the Value Added Tax (VAT). As a result of the price revision, the retail price of pharmaceuticals will be reduced by 5.6 per cent from October 1, a Finance Ministry news release said. The Commissioner of Internal Trade will monitor the revised prices and stringent action will be taken against any violations. These decisions were taken at a discussion held recently at the Finance Ministry. The discussion was chaired by Finance Minister K.N. Choksy and Ministers Bandula Gunawardene and Ravi Karunanayake and the Chamber of Pharmaceuticals Industry. Prior to the implementation of VAT, pharmaceuticals were subject to the National Security Levy (NSL). The Government decided to exempt pharmaceuticals from VAT with effect from August 1. However, pharmaceuticals imported or manufactured before this date, for which NSL had already been paid, were released to the market at prices fixed by the Fair Trading Commission after considering the levy paid by industrialists. The release further said that the State Pharmaceutical Corporation is exploring avenues of further reducing its retail price structures. |
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