Finance Minister Amr El-Garhy and Health Minister Ahmed Emad El-Din agreed to apply the discretionary assessment of the value-added tax (VAT) on blood bags, equivalent to 1.3% of the invoice value.
A statement issued by the Ministry of Finance said that this agreement comes to ease the burden on the patients through reducing the cost of medical supplies.
According to the VAT Law, the ministries of finance and health can issue lists of the value of medical supplies and services, said El-Garhy.
The minister added that the application of the discretionary assessment of VAT equals 13% of the VAT and 10% of the sales tax on blood bags, thus the tax will be only 1.3%, noting that the ministry will issue a decision in this regard.
For his part, El-Din said that there is a coordination between all the state institutions to achieve the public interest. He pointed out that setting accurate principles of calculating the tax prevents manipulation and ends this crisis. The two ministers stressed that the political leadership orders easing the burden on low-income patients, as the government primarily aims to provide a decent life for citizens.
