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Tuesday, May 05,
2020 / 9:14 PM / by KPMG Nigeria / Header Image
Credit: medequipdoc
On
Thursday, 30 April 2020, the Honourable Minister of Finance, Budget and
National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, issued a Circular ("the
Circular) conveying the approval of His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari
(GCFR), of the implementation of new fiscal policy measures aimed at
facilitating the importation of essential medical supplies to combat the
Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in Nigeria.
Specifically,
the Circular exempts importers of specified medical supplies from payment of
import duties and value added tax (VAT) on such items for a six-month period in
the first instance, with effect from 1 May 2020. The Circular contains the
relevant Customs Harmonised System Classification Codes for each exempt item
and, directs the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to expedite clearance of the
medical supplies in line with Standard Operating Procedures for clearing
humanitarian and relief materials.
We have
summarised the exempt medical supplies as follows:
Comments
The
introduction of fiscal measures exempting medical supplies required to manage
the COVID-19 pandemic from import duty and VAT by the Federal Government is a
step in the right direction. It is hoped that the importers of the exempted
items will pass down the benefit of the fiscal measures to healthcare
institutions dealing with COVID-19 cases in the country. It is further hoped
that the NCS and port authorities will join hands together to ensure expedited
clearance and release of the products and avoid undue delay in the delivery of
the much-needed medical supplies to the end-users.
As the
Federal Government continues to manage the impact of COVID-19 in Nigeria, it
should consider incentivising local production of the required medical supplies
by expanding the description of medical supplies and equipment in the List of
Pioneer Industries and Products, 2017 eligible for income tax holiday under the
Industrial Development (IncomeTax Relief) Act. This will be for the long-term
benefit of the economy and the healthcare industry in particular.
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