Powered by

Advertisment
Home Latest

Which 36 life-saving drugs are exempted from BCD?

Here is the list of 36 life-saving medicines and 37 additional medicines, along with 30 new patient assistance programs, now exempt from basic customs duty to aid cancer and rare disease patients, as announced in Budget 2025.

By Ground Report Desk
New Update
Which 36 life-saving drugs are exempted from BCD?

Photograph: (Ground Report/Canva)

Listen to this article
0.75x 1x 1.5x
00:00 / 00:00

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman recently announced that 36 life-saving drugs, including essential medicines for cancer and other rare diseases, would be exempt from basic customs duty. This decision was made during her Budget 2025 speech.

Advertisment

She also shared that 37 more medicines would be added to this list. Additionally, the government will set up 200 cancer daycare centers in government hospitals across all districts within the next three years.

List of 36 life-saving medicines exempted from custom duty

S. No. Drug Name
1 Onasemnogene abeparvovec
2 Asciminib
3 Mepolizumab
4 Pegylated Liposomal Irinotecan
5 Daratumumab
6 Daratumumab subcutaneous
7 Teclistamab
8 Amivantamab
9 Alectinib
10 Risdiplam
11 Obinutuzumab
12 Polatuzumab vedotin
13 Entrectinib
14 Atezolizumab
15 Spesolimab
16 Velaglucerase Alpha
17 Agalsidase Alfa
18 Rurioctocog Alpha Pegol
19 Idursulphatase
20 Alglucosidase Alfa
21 Laronidase
22 Olipudase Alfa
23 Tepotinib
24 Avelumab
25 Emicizumab
26 Belumosudil
27 Miglustat
28 Velmanase Alfa
29 Alirocumab
30 Evolocumab
31 Cystamine Bitartrate
32 CI-Inhibitor injection
33 Inclisiran
34 Agalsidase Beta
35 Imiglucerase
36 Eptacog alfa activated recombinant coagulation factor VIIa

Sitharaman said, “To provide relief to patients, particularly those suffering from cancer, rare diseases and other severe chronic diseases, I propose to add 36 lifesaving drugs and medicines to the list of medicines fully exempted from Basic Customs Duty (BCD). I also propose to add 6 lifesaving medicines to the list attracting concessional customs duty of 5 percent. Full exemption and concessional duty will also respectively apply on the bulk drugs for manufacture of the above.”

She also mentioned that medicines provided under Patient Assistance Programmes (PAPs) run by pharmaceutical companies will be fully exempt from customs duty, as long as they are supplied for free to patients. “I propose to add 37 more medicines along with 13 new patient assistance programmes,” she added.

37 life-saving medicines and 30 new assistance programs exempted

S.No Drug Name Patient Assistance Program (PAP) Company Name
1 Pembrolizumab Key PAP 1.0 MSD Pharmaceuticals
2 Pembrolizumab KIRAN MSD Pharmaceuticals
3 Lorlatinib LorbriquaCare Pfizer Products India Pvt. Ltd.
4 Dacomitinib DacoCare Pfizer Products India Pvt. Ltd.
5 Inotuzumab Ozogamicin HemaCare Pfizer Products India Pvt. Ltd.
6 Ribociclib UMAANG Novartis Healthcare Pvt. Ltd.
7 Dabrafenib UMAANG Novartis Healthcare Pvt. Ltd.
8 Selumetinib AstraZeneca Pharma PAP AstraZeneca Pharma India Ltd.
9 Benralizumab AstraZeneca Pharma PAP AstraZeneca Pharma India Ltd.
10 Fulvestrant AstraZeneca Pharma PAP AstraZeneca Pharma India Ltd.
11 Acalabrutinib AstraZeneca Pharma PAP AstraZeneca Pharma India Ltd.
12 Olaparib AstraZeneca Pharma PAP AstraZeneca Pharma India Ltd.
13 Amivantamab Johnson and Johnson PAP Johnson & Johnson Pvt. Ltd.
14 Teclistamab Johnson and Johnson PAP Johnson & Johnson Pvt. Ltd.
15 Ustekinumab Johnson and Johnson PAP Johnson & Johnson Pvt. Ltd.
16 Daratumumab + Hyaluronidase-fihj Johnson and Johnson PAP Johnson & Johnson Pvt. Ltd.
17 Ibrutinib Johnson and Johnson PAP Johnson & Johnson Pvt. Ltd.
18 Bortezomib Johnson and Johnson PAP Johnson & Johnson Pvt. Ltd.
19 Daratumumab Johnson and Johnson PAP Johnson & Johnson Pvt. Ltd.
20 Cetuximab Rainbow PAP Merck Specialties Pvt. Ltd.
21 Avelumab My Bavencio Assist Program Merck Specialties Pvt. Ltd.
22 Tepotinib My Tepmetko Patient Access Program Merck Specialties Pvt. Ltd.
23 Brentuximab Vedotin Takeda PAP Takeda Biopharmaceuticals India Pvt. Ltd.
24 Vedolizumab Takeda PAP Takeda Biopharmaceuticals India Pvt. Ltd.
25 Velaglucerase Alpha Takeda PAP Takeda Biopharmaceuticals India Pvt. Ltd.
26 Agalsidase Alpha Takeda PAP Takeda Biopharmaceuticals India Pvt. Ltd.
27 Idursulphase Takeda PAP Takeda Biopharmaceuticals India Pvt. Ltd.
28 Mepolizumab GSK Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
29 Alectinib The Blue Tree Roche Products India Pvt. Ltd.
30 Risdiplam Powder The Blue Tree Roche Products India Pvt. Ltd.
31 Emicizumab The Blue Tree Roche Products India Pvt. Ltd.
32 Atezolizumab The Blue Tree Roche Products India Pvt. Ltd.
33 Pertuzumab + Trastuzumab The Blue Tree Roche Products India Pvt. Ltd.
34 Ocrelizumab The Blue Tree Roche Products India Pvt. Ltd.
35 Polatuzumab Vedotin The Blue Tree Roche Products India Pvt. Ltd.
36 Faricimab The Blue Tree Roche Products India Pvt. Ltd.
37 Luspatercept Bristol-Myers Patient Assistance Program Bristol-Myers Squibb India Pvt. Ltd.

The Finance Ministry stated, “This notification will come into effect on February 2, 2025.”

In her Budget 2024 speech, Sitharaman proposed fully exempting three cancer treatment medicines from basic customs duty to aid cancer patients. She also suggested changes to the basic customs duty for X-ray tubes and flat panel detectors used in medical X-ray machines, as part of the phased manufacturing programme to align with domestic capacity growth.

In July last year, the Health Ministry was allocated Rs 90,958.63 crore in the Union Budget 2024-25, marking a 12.9% increase compared to the previous year’s revised estimate of Rs 80,517.62 crore.

The financial challenges are growing as India faces a rising cancer burden. According to a study published in the Indian Journal of Medical Research, India recorded around 1.46 million new cancer cases in 2022, with lung cancer being the most common among men, and breast cancer being the most common among women.

Support us to keep independent environmental journalism alive in India.

Keep Reading

California Fires Live updates: destructive wildfires in history

Hollywood Hills burning video is fake and AI generated

Devastating wildfire in California: wind, dry conditions to blame?

Los Angeles Cracks Under Water Pressure

From tourist paradise to waste wasteland: Sindh River Cry for help

Follow Ground Report on X, Instagram and Facebook for environmental and underreported stories from the margins. Give us feedback on our email id [email protected]

Don't forget to Subscribe to our weekly newsletter, Join our community on WhatsApp, and Follow our YouTube Channel for video stories.