ISLAMABAD, April 4: The government on Thursday approved a list of 256 life-saving drugs exempted from the 15 per cent general sales tax (GST).

President Gen Pervez Musharraf on Friday had ordered the authorities concerned to finalize the list and review all issues concerning the pharmaceutical industry.

Interestingly, the step was taken a day before the scheduled speech of the president to the nation, in which he was expected to announce the referendum date.

An official source told Dawn that the decision to exempt 256 drugs from the GST was taken after the Chief Executive Secretariat approved the list. Later, the Central Board of Revenue (CBR) issued the list after receiving it from the health ministry.

The list has divided the life-saving medicines into 26 categories including anaesthetics, analgesics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory, antiallergics and drugs used in anaphyleasics, anti-epileptics, anti-infective, antiparkinsonism, haematinics, anticoagulants, vitamin-K derivatives, blood products and plasma substitutes, anti-haemophiliac factors, cardio vascular drugs, dermatological (topical), diuretics, gastrointestinal, electrolytes supplements, harmones and other endocrine drugs and contraceptives, immumnologicals, oplithalmological preparators, oxytecics and antioxytocics, peritoneal dialysis solution, psychotherapeutic drugs, drugs acting on the respiratory tract, solution correcting water electrolyte and acid base disturbances, antidotes and other substances used in poisoning and anti- neoplastics immunosuppressive and drugs used in palliative care.

The decision to impose GST on medicines had attracted strong criticizm from different consumer watch groups and human right organization. These groups had also demanded of the government to review the their decision on priority basis. Even the central executive committee of all Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA) had decided to observe strike against the tax.

Different NGOs like The Network for Consumer Protection had even decided to launch a campaign against the move, besides challenging it in the high court.

Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA) vice-chairman Mohammad Abdullah Feroz, commenting on exemption of 256 medicines from the tax, said the list would add to the prevailing confusion as it was incomplete.

He also questioned as to how the government could restrict the life-saving drugs list by mentioning only 256 medicines and ignoring other important combinations.

The people of those countries, where the GST was imposed on medicines, had high ratio of salaries also enjoyed social- security system.

Pakistan Chemist and Druggist Association Punjab Zone, chairman, Khalid Mahmood Amin, appealed to the president to announce complete exemption of all medicines from the tax in his Friday’s speech to the nation as every drug was a life-saving one.

He said the government had already failed to fulfil its responsibility towards provision of health cover to its citizens, who were already hard pressed due to increase in tariffs of electricity, gas, telephones and water.