Duty-free facility to referral hospitals under review

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Doulot Akter Mala
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) is reviewing the duty-free facility offered to nine particular hospitals that are known as 'referral hospitals'.
The NBR has formed a three-member committee, headed by Nasir Uddin, NBR commissioner for duty exemption and duty drawback (DEDO), to review the referral hospital facility and its conditions as it has been reported that the incentive is not benefiting the poor people.
The referral hospital facility aims at checking flight of foreign exchange through undertaking treatment abroad.
Generally, a referral hospital is a hospital that a patient is referred to by other health-care centres because it is better equipped and has specially trained physicians for better as well as special treatment.
There is allegation that poor patients are not getting proper health services from the luxury hospitals that are enjoying tax-free facility. These hospitals charge exorbitant fees.
The NBR committee will inspect the hospitals and make recommendations on how they can involve those hospitals in public welfare activities.
Officials said the NBR committee will give a report after scrutinising the activities of the referral hospitals. It will review whether the facility given to those hospitals is justified.
The NBR will take a final decision in this regard after getting a detailed investigation report from the committee, they said.
The NBR committee will investigate the irregularities including false declaration in duty-free imports of medical equipment, failure to ensure quality health services, abuse of duty-free facility by selling equipment in the local market.
The NBR issued a Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO) in 2005 saying the referral hospitals would not have to pay any import duty, value added tax (VAT) or supplementary duty (SD) on import of medical equipment and ingredients.
The hospitals are enjoying the 'referral hospital' facility under which they are allowed to import around 3,000 medical equipment without payment of any tax.
Currently, nine hospitals have been enjoying the 'referral hospital' facility. They are---National heart foundation hospital and research, BIRDEM, Apollo Hospitals, Zainul Haque Sikder Women's Medical College and Hospital (PVT) ltd, Khawja Younus Ali Medical College and Hospital, Ibrahim Iqbal Memorial Hospital Ltd Chittagong, Jalalabad Ragib-Rabeya Medical College Hospital Sylhet, United Hospital ltd, Square Hospital.
The hospitals will have to follow some conditions to get the facility. Those referral hospitals will have to install the duty-free machinery within three months of import and those are not transferable to others.
The referral hospitals will have to obtain approval from a revenue board committee. The committee will issue a certificate if it finds the hospital as eligible for enjoying the facility after inspection of the hospital.
An NBR official said the government has offered the facility for those hospitals to conduct intensive research and provide consultancy to other hospitals.
"The investigation team will also monitor whether or not the referral hospitals have the research facility and consultation service," he said.