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The government has exempted basic customs duty on all drugs and food for special medical purposes imported for personal use for treatment of rare diseases. The import duty waiver will come into effect from April 1. Also, the government has exempted Pembrolizumab (Keytruda), used in treatment of various cancers, from basic customs duty. Drugs/Medicines generally attract basic customs duty of 10 per cent, while some categories of life saving drugs/vaccines attract a concessional rate of 5 per cent or Nil. "The Central Government has given full exemption from basic customs duty on all drugs and Food for Special Medical Purposes imported for personal use for treatment of all Rare Diseases listed under the National Policy for Rare Diseases 2021," a finance ministry statement said. Food for Special Medical Purposes is a food formulation intended to provide nutritional support to persons who suffer from a specific disease, disorder or a medical condition, as a part of their dietary ...
The government has removed the basic customs duty of 10 per cent on whole tur or pigeon peas as part of steps to check the local prices of the lentil. In a notification dated March 3, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) said import duty on Tur (whole) will be 'Nil'. The reduced duty is effective from March 4. However, import of tur, other than whole tur, continues to attract basic customs duty of 10 per cent. The exemption to whole tur import duty comes amidst lower tur production estimates in the country. Tur production is pegged lower at 3.89 million tonnes in the 2022-23 crop year (July-June) from 4.34 million tonnes in the previous year as per the initial projection made by the agriculture ministry. Tur is a kharif crop. Fearing likely shortage, the government in January said it has made an advance plan to import about 10 lakh tonnes higher quality of tur dal via private trade this year to meet the domestic requirement.