Pharmaceutical manufacturing companies in Zambia have urged Government to level the playing field between local pharmaceutical manufacturing companies and importers in order to grow the sector.
Mohammed Umar, Chief Executive Officer of Pharmanova Zambia, delivered a presentation to Minister of Finance at the Zambia Association of Manufacturers Pre-Budget Meeting on Thursday.
“We need certain incentives from Government for us to grow as a pharmaceutical manufacturing sector. One of the challenges is Value Added Tax (VAT) and Import Duty,” he said.
Mr. Umar said pharmaceutical manufacturing companies in Zambia pay VAT on raw materials coupled with the challenge of getting back VAT refunds on time because of cash flow issues.
He said Statutory Instrument (SI) 110 on Duty is not a solution to the problem if Zambia wants to grow the pharmaceutical sector.
“It is unfair for imported products to be more beneficial in terms of taxation than the locally manufactured products. We also appeal to Government to allow us to import machinery VAT and Duty Free in order to expand the sector,” he said.
“We need to grow the pharmaceutical sector in order to ensure stability in Zambia’s medical supply chain. The measures by Government can level the playing field between local pharmaceutical manufacturing companies and importers,” he said.
Mr. Umar said competitive pricing, producing local and job creation, all benefit Zambia’s value chain which includes the transport sector, packaging sector among others.
He said one of the reasons to grow the sector is the lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic where it was realized that there is need to be self sufficient, when it comes to medicine and medical supplies.
The Minister of Finance took note and appreciated the submission that was made.
