LAHORE:The Central President of the Pakistan Association of Alternative Medicine (PAAM), M Kashif Aslam Malik has expressed deep concern over the imposition of an 18% General Sales Tax (GST) on alternative medicines.
He has urged the federal government to immediately abolish this tax in the upcoming budget. He said the alternative medicine industry is currently under severe economic pressure. The excessive increase in costs related to raw materials, packaging, and logistics due to the 18% GST has crippled the industry.
This tax burden not only threatens the livelihoods of over 500,000 people directly and more than two million indirectly associated with the sector but also poses a grave risk of widespread manufacturing unit closures. He emphasised that medicines should be viewed as a “national necessity” rather than a source of revenue generation. He demanded that the government initiate a consultative process with PAAM representatives during the final stages of budget preparation to exempt alternative medicines and their raw materials from GST, thereby ensuring industrial stability and the availability of affordable healthcare for the public.
