The customs wing of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) has embarked upon the job monitoring the compliance with the condition attached to the duty-import of medical equipment and machinery by the country's private referral hospitals.
The NBR-set condition for a referral hospital enjoying the duty-free import facility is that it has to keep 5.0 per cent of its total seats reserved for poor patients and provide free-of-cost treatment to them.
The Board has incorporated the condition in a Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO) issued during the current fiscal year.
Talking to the FE, NBR second secretary (customs policy) Sadhon Kumar Kundo said the revenue board has recently sent a letter to the director general of health directorate, asking him to monitor whether referral hospitals are complying with the condition or not.
"We have requested the directorate of health to send a report after reviewing the status of referral hospitals on how many offered 5.0 per cent free-of-cost seats to poor patients," he said.
The customs wing is yet to get any response from the directorate, he added.
It has been found that many of the referral hospital authorities are unaware of the new condition on mandatory allocation of 5.0 per cent free-of-cost seats in the hospitals.
Assistant General Manager of LabAid Hospital Saifur Rahman Lenin said the hospital authority is yet to get any instructions on the new rule from the government's department concerned.
"We are offering various facilities to poor patients, but we are yet to allocate 5.0 per cent free-of-cost seats for poor patients," he said.
It has been learnt that some of the referral hospitals have been facing undue pressure from political quarters to allocate 5.0 per cent free-of-cost seats to people of their choice instead of poor patients.
Recently, a posh hospital wanted to give back the certificate of the referral hospital to the NBR to avoid such hassle.
A NBR official said some of the hospital authorities alleged that they were coming undue political pressure to provide free-of-cost treatment to influential persons rather than poor patients.
Those referral hospitals see the facility as hassle rather than financial incentives for them, he said.
However, none of the private hospital authorities agreed to make comments on this issue.
Currently, 24 private hospitals are enjoying referral hospital facility.
The referral hospitals are: BIRDEM, National Heart Foundation, Apollo, Zainul Haque Sikder Women's Medical College and Hospital, Khawaja Yunous Ali Medical College, Ibrahim Iqbal Memorial Hospital, Jalalabad Ragib-Rabeya Medical College and Hospital, United Hospital, Square, Salauddin Specialised Hospital, Ad-din, Delta, Labaid, Green Life, Enam Medical College, Bangabandhu Memorial Hospital, Sumona Hospital, Monsur Ali Medical College, Dr Sirajul Islam, Care Specialized Hospital, Samorita, Gazi Medical College and Ali Hospital.
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