Medical goods market operators doubt efficiency of facilitating provision of victims suffered in counterterrorism operation zone with medical products with rise of VAT
Kyiv, July 25 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The operators of the healthcare products market have doubts that the provision of victims injured in the counterterrorism operation zone will be efficiently facilitated along with the possible increase of value added tax (VAT) on imports and supply of healthcare products to 20%, President of the Market Operators of Medical Devices Association and Director of Kalina Business Development Company LLC Pavlo Kharchyk said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine on Thursday.
"According to the law passed, if medical products are imported for the needs of the counterterrorism operation, imports duties and VAT are not imposed on them. However, it is unclear what the document will confirm the fact that these goods are imported for the needs of the counterterrorism operation and that they will be used for this purpose. Practice that some medical products will be imported for the counterterrorism operation but used not with the said purpose could appear," he said.
Kharchyk said that all the needs of the counterterrorism operation in medical products are satisfied thanks to volunteers and it is difficult to say about the proper provision of the counterterrorism operation with the required products.
Sales and Marketing Director of the medicine and dentistry division of 3M Ukraine, Leonid Zhukotsky, said medical products for the needs of the counterterrorism operation are supplied via distributors of medical products and pharmacy chains.
On Wednesday, the Ukrainian parliament passed a law on amendments to Article 4 of the law on the rehabilitation of people with disabilities in Ukraine regarding the provision of participants of the counterterrorism operation who suffered in it with medical products, technical and other goods of their rehabilitation.
On Thursday at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine the operators of the healthcare products market are alarmed at the possible introduction of 20% VAT on imports and supply of these products, which will result in the increase in the prices of healthcare products and the disappearance of its most innovation segment from the Ukrainian market.
From July 1, 2014, operators of the healthcare products market several times asked the stet authorities and various agencies to quickly react to the actions of the customs service which actually resulted in the stop of imports of healthcare products to Ukraine.