Research on additional preferential import tax policies for pharmaceutical ingredients

National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue speaks at the National Assembly Standing Committee meeting on the afternoon of April 16. (Photo: DUY LINH)

On the afternoon of April 16, at the 32nd Session, the National Assembly Standing Committee gave opinions on the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Pharmacy.

Speaking at the meeting, National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue stated that the development of the pharmaceutical industry is both economic and related to the care and protection of people's health, so it needs to be given great attention and have policies to promote development. The pharmaceutical industry has great potential but in reality its scale is still small.

The National Assembly Chairman pointed out that currently, most common medicines can be produced in Vietnam, but about 90% of raw materials for making medicines must be imported. Most essential and specialized medicines still have to be imported.

The National Assembly Chairman requested the Ministry of Health and the National Assembly's Committee on Social Affairs to review Decision No. 376/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister on the Program for developing domestically produced pharmaceutical and medicinal materials industry by 2030, with a vision to 2045, to legalize a number of policies to encourage this industry to develop more strongly.

According to the National Assembly Chairman, there should be preferential policies for enterprises producing high-tech products; promote domestic and foreign joint ventures into chains, especially in technology transfer activities in Vietnam.

"Vietnam's distribution policy is still limited, so it is necessary to consider linking domestic and foreign enterprises together to produce, distribute, and circulate in chains domestically and internationally," said the National Assembly Chairman.

National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue said that the pharmaceutical industry has great potential but its current scale is still small. (Photo: DUY LINH)

In addition, the National Assembly Chairman said that it is possible to legalize some preferential policies on output of products of domestic production facilities such as in bidding for procurement, selection of treatment drugs, payment of medical treatment costs, health insurance, etc.

With over 90% of raw materials having to be imported, the National Assembly Chairman raised the issue of preferential import tax policies for imported raw materials for medicine.

“Although tax policies are stipulated in the tax law, some tax laws and import tariffs under the Government’s authority will be amended in the future. If the price of imported raw materials is high, domestic drugs will be expensive, people will have to buy at high prices, and the competitiveness of domestically produced drugs will also be poor,” said National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue.

According to the National Assembly Chairman, there should be research on policies to supplement import tax incentives for imported raw materials for pharmaceutical packaging, excipients, capsule shells, etc. Those that cannot be produced should have preferential taxes to reduce costs.

Referring to the content of regulations on pharmacy chain business and e-commerce trading of drugs and pharmaceutical ingredients, the National Assembly Chairman said that pharmaceutical enterprises tend to want to loosen regulations on online drug trading to facilitate production and business activities.

“However, medicine is a very special product, related to human health, safety and life, so it is necessary to find a balance between facilitating the drug business and ensuring safety for the people. The key point of this law amendment is this,” the National Assembly Chairman emphasized.

The National Assembly Chairman said that e-commerce drug trading is a new form, so it needs to be strictly controlled and its specific impacts assessed. Accordingly, the drafting committee and the agency reviewing the draft law need to carefully consider the benefits and risks, assess the level of control by the State management agency, and study the experiences of countries around the world on this issue.

“How to find the best balance between production, business, and convenient circulation while ensuring transparency and safety for buyers,” the National Assembly Chairman noted.

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