We have been receiving loads of questions about import duty on medical supplies and other instruments. Customers have asked about the possibilities of importing these supplies and other related solution instruments. These questions started coming in shortly after our last post on the importation of medical supplies and food materials to help fight the #coronavirus.

At a point, these items had posed difficulties as the cost of import duty were on the high in most countries of the world due to high demands amidst other factors.

In actual sense, the hike of the import duties on medical supplies had a direct impact on the availability of items which were of great necessities.

Recall that some times in February and March, there was a high record of a serious scarcity of the face mask, hand sanitizer, among other protective commodities.

Still, on scarcity, another factor was the high demand for these essential medical commodities. This paved the way for an excessive expectation that yielded into the hike and consequently, scarcity.

Did you experience the same situation within the period in your location? Please use the comment box, we would like to know how it affected you and your immediate environment.

Import Duty On Medical Supplies? Worry Less About That.
So, in view of the broken supply chain across the globe, the government had initially promised to waive the import duties, thereby supporting importers in freighting their cargoes.

The Federal Government of Nigeria according to report has however fulfilled her promise and granted the waiver effective immediately as at Tuesday 3rd May 2020.

The major aim of this is to address the shortage of medical supplies in the fight against #COVID-19. This was also in view of the broken supply chain across the globe. This is coming as the government support to importers to freight their cargoes into the country.

It is no more news, but guess what?

We are as excited as you are right now. This measure will obviously have a special impact on your business, and ours too!

It will help improve the cost of sales of the medical items (if you are a distributor or a seller), help battle the coronavirus as we would have more importation of medical instruments coming in. There would be an ‘increase and strengthen health infrastructure in response to the COVID-19 pandemic,’. Consequently, it will support the efforts of the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) in combating the pandemic.

Furthermore, the report gathered states that, “In addition to import duty waiver, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has also directed the NCS to implement expedited clearing of all imported healthcare equipment, medical and pharmaceutical supplies.

So, you now know why we are excited?

To us, the steps the federal government has taken on this is a huge plus, an opportunity for importers to save more while importing medical instruments and supplies. It goes on to mean that apart from the professional freight forwarder’s fee, you don’t have to worry import duty tax by the country’s customs authorities.

How Long Will The Waiver Last?
There was no mention of how long these waivers would last. But in our opinion, this might last till the pandemic is completely eradicated, hopefully in no distance time.

Source: https://bowagateglobal.com/2020/05/07/import-duty-on-medical-supplies/

Read Also: Shipping in Medical and Food Materials During the COVID-19 Lockdown
https://bowagateglobal.com/2020/04/30/shipping-medical-and-food-materials/