NIPC seeks tax holiday for medical, pharmaceutical sectors

By Miriam Humbe

To encourage investments in the healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors, Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) has advised that several activities in these sectors qualify for the 3-5 year company income tax holiday that it administers under the Pioneer Status Incentive (PSI) Scheme.
The activities qualifying include:
Manufacture of pharmaceuticals and medical chemicals. Medicinal active substances to be used for their pharmacological properties in the manufacture of medicaments: antibiotics, basic vitamins, salicylic and o-acetylsalicylic acids; Medicaments–antisera and other blood functions, vaccines; Processing of blood; Medical diagnostic preparations; Radioactive in-vivo diagnostic substances; Biotech pharmaceuticals; Medical impregnated wadding, gauze, bandages, dressing.
Manufacture of irradiation, electromedical and electrotherapeutic equipment. Irradiation apparatus and tubes, CT Scanners, PET scanners, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) equipment, medical ultrasound equipment, electrocardiographs, electromedical endoscopic equipment, medical laser equipment, pacemakers, hearing aids.
Manufacture of medical and dental equipment and supplies. Surgical drapes and sterile string and tissue; Surgical Instruments including disposables Dental fillings and cements, dental wax and other dental plaster preparations; Bone reconstruction cements; dental laboratory furnaces; Laboratory ultrasonic cleaning machinery; Laboratory sterilisers; Distilling apparatus, centrifuges; Medical, surgical, dental or veterinary furniture (operating tables, examining tables, hospital beds, dentists chair); Bone plates and screws, syringes, needles, catheters, cannulae; Dental instruments; Orthopaedic and prosthetic devices; medical thermometers.
Construction and operation of non-residential buildings. Health supporting structures: specialised hospitals, diagnostics, laboratories, medical cities. Qualifying activities cut across major sectors of the economy including agriculture, mining & quarrying, manufacturing, electricity and gas supply, waste management, construction, trade, information and communication.
The PSI was established by the Industrial Development (Income Tax Relief) Act, of 1971 and is a tax holiday which grants qualifying industries and products relief from payment of corporate income tax for an initial period of three years, extendable for one or two additional years.