PERU

On June 22, the Executive Branch added new pharmaceutical products to the list of essential resources to manage and treat COVID-19 patients. The Congress Economic Committee began work on the bill to exempt medicines, materials and PPE to prevent and treat COVID-19 patients from General Sales Tax (IGV, for its acronym in Spanish) .

The updated list of essential items takes place in the context of the Health Emergency and includes the following:

• Atacurus besylate
• Ivermectin
• Suxamethonium chloride
• Vecuronium bromide

In addition, the committee heard from the legislator Erwin Tito Ortega (Fuerza Popular) who explained that the proposal seeks to reduce the final cost price of these products, as was the case with certain cancer treatment drugs since 2011. The validity of these “tax benefits” will be valid until six months after the end of the health emergency.

The congressman pointed out that the products exempted include supplies for the domestic manufacture of therapeutic equivalents to prevent and treat COVID-19 patients.