The National Chamber of Pharmacists-Wholesalers Distributors (CSPGR) under the Tunisian Union of Industry, Commerce and Handicrafts (Utica) has decided to suspend the drug distribution activity, from Monday, December 5, 2022.
This suspension will continue until concrete solutions are found to save the sector, ensure the distribution of medicines in the country and preserve the patient’s right to access to medicines, according to the text of the press release published for this purpose by said Chamber, which justifies the suspension of the drug distribution activity by the non-renewal of the certificate of exemption from withholding tax on sales of drugs for the year 2022, which has burdened the financial charges of wholesale distributors. “Without this exemption, we will all go bankrupt,” warned a chamber member.
The chamber specified that this cessation of activity will continue until concrete solutions are found to save the sector, ensure the distribution of medicines in the country and guarantee the rights of patients.
It should be remembered that the CSPGR, which had previously decided to stop its activity last November 15, for the same reasons, had postponed this decision on the 14th of the same month, explaining this postponement by the continuation of negotiations with the governmental parties concerned and ” serious promises made by the Minister of Health, and the ministers concerned with the resolution of this affair “.
For the record, the CSPGR had called, in March 2022, on the government to intervene urgently to allow its members to have the certificate of exemption from withholding tax for 2022.
The treasurer of the chamber, Ahmed El Karray had indicated in a statement to the Tap agency, that the chamber had been in the habit, since 2006, of obtaining the said exemption, within a period which does not exceed the month of January, adding that the members of the chamber have submitted requests to have this certificate, since the beginning of 2022, without having received a response.
He stressed that failure to obtain this certificate will impact the regular supply of drugs to the market and will put companies operating in the field in financial difficulty.
Tunisia has 80 companies operating in the field of wholesale drug distribution.
