3 cancer drugs now exempt from customs duty; X-ray tubes to become cheaper

To bring down the cost of cancer treatment, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman lifted the customs duty from three cancer medicines in the Union Budget tabled Tuesday.

The Union minister also brought down the customs duty on X-ray tubes used in medical X-ray machines.

The three medicines, Trastuzumab Deruxtecan, Osimertinib, and Durvalumab were previously subject to a 10 per cent customs duty. Now these drugs will be imported duty-free.

Additionally, there was a proposed reduction in customs duties on X-ray tubes used in the manufacture of X-ray machines for medical, surgical, dental, and veterinary purposes.

“I also propose changes in the BCD (Basics Custom Duty) on X-ray tubes & flat panel detectors for use in medical X-ray machines under the Phased Manufacturing Programme, so as to synchronise them with domestic capacity addition” Sitharaman said.

The current duty of 15 per cent will be reduced to 5 per cent until March 31, 2025. Thereafter, the duty will increase to 7.5 per cent from April 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026, and then revert to 10 per cent from April 1, 2026.

Meanwhile, of the three drugs exempted from customs duty, Trastuzumab Deruxtecan is used for the treatment of breast cancer or gastric or gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma. Fam-Trastuzumab Deruxtecan (Enhertu) injection, produced by AstraZeneca, is packaged in 1x1 vials of 100 mg and costs Rs 3,00,000 per piece.

Osimertinib is used to treat non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in patients who have certain types of abnormal epidermal growth factor (EGFR) genes. Osimertinib tablets, available in a packaging size of 80 mg, are priced at Rs 20,000 per bottle.

And Durvalumab is used alone or with other drugs to treat adults with certain types of biliary tract cancer (including bile duct cancer and gallbladder cancer), endometrial cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma (a type of liver cancer), non-small cell lung cancer, and small cell lung cancer. Imfinzi (Durvalumab) anti-cancer injection, with a dosage of 500 mg, is packaged in vials and priced at Rs 1,90,000 per vial.