Federal government, in its Budget 2020-21 has revoked import duties for cancer and COVID-19 detection kits.
Budget 2020-21 has proved to be beneficial for the medical sector, as the federal government has revoked import and custom duties on the import of cancer and COVID-19 detection kits and equipment.
The removal of import duties on these detection kits is expected to bring down the cost of diagnosis for such diseases which will prove to be an essential ease in economic and financial burden for the masses as both cancer and COVID-19 diagnosis process is quite expensive.
Furthermore, the two per cent federal excise tax (FED) imposed on edible oil and oilseed has also been removed, along with the reduction of duty on cement from Rs 2 to Rs 1.75 per kilogram.
Read More: Hammad Azhar presents federal budget of Rs 7,294.9 bln in National Assembly
It is to be noted that the government has also approved custom tax exemption for the exports of new industries in Federal Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) till 2023.
In addition to it, the Budget 2020-21 has also provided sales tax exemption on healthcare products and goods for a period of three months.
However, federal excise duty (FED) on cigarette and cigar has been raised up to 100 per cent from the previous 65 per cent, whereas a FED of Rs 10 per milliliter has been fixed for e-cigarettes. Caffeinated drinks will be subjected to 25 per cent FED, 7.5 and 25 per cent on locally and imported double cabin vehicles respectively.