PPMA appeals to new govt to withdraw tax on drug production

KARACHI: The Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers' Association (PPMA) has asked Shehbaz Sharif, Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, to remove the unjust 17 per cent general sales tax imposed on raw materials consumed for pharmaceutical production in Pakistan by the PTI government.

An official from the Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA) said that the previous government's decision to levy 17 per cent GST on medication manufacturers' raw materials had jeopardised the country's capacity to obtain crucial medicines.

Dr Waheed stated that the country's drug makers had been protesting on this one issue for four months, but the previous government had no inclination to budge.

He claimed that unfair taxation was impeding the best efforts of PPMA members to continue manufacturing crucial medicines for the country's ailing inhabitants.

When the country faced an emergency, he added, the PPMA had always backed the government and its programmes to ensure that there would be no interruption in the manufacturing of excellent medications at the most reasonable costs for the patients.