India Pharma Outlook Team | Tuesday, 29 March 2022
India’s free trade pact with the UAE eliminated tariffs on finished pharmaceutical goods but restricted access to the gulf nation’s energy resources. “The parties while recognising that there are variances between their healthcare systems, share a commitment to simplify access of finished pharmaceutical products, and certain marketed biological products for human use, collectively referred to as ‘pharmaceutical products’, as a means of ongoing to improve the health of their populations,” the document on India-U.A.E.
Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement said. Tariff on finished pharmaceutical products and other items such as waste pharmaceuticals, enzymes for pharmaceutical use other than streptokinase, and pharmaceutical glassware has been removed with immediate effect. Glands and products of wild animals used in pharmaceutical preparations; leaves, powder, flowers and pods used in pharmacy or as agrochemicals; pharmaceutical grade kaolin, According to the document on the commerce ministry website, India and the U.A.E. will receive the pharmaceutical products manufactured in either countries, without the need for prior inspection, provided that these are accepted by the regulatory authorities of Australia, Canada, European Union, Japan, the U.S. or the U.K.
“Each party, however, has a right to conduct its own inspection of the manufacturing facilities approved by the regulatory authorities… The party’s own inspection shall be an exception from the normal practice,” the document said. Both countries will also be able to exchange any information necessary for joint recognition of inspections. India has shipped pharmaceutical products worth Rs 1,197.5 crore to the UAE so far in the ongoing tariff on these
items varies from 10-30%.Human blood, human plasma, human tissues, and organs have also been excluded from this.fiscal compared with Rs 1,774.3 crore a year ago. The country has imported pharmaceutical products worth Rs 21.2 crore from the U.A.E. so far in 2021-22.
“India has largely been an exporter of pharmaceutical products and this facilitation will help from a trade perspective as well. Indian pharma companies have made GCC an important area and this will further boost growth,” said Sujay Shetty, global health industries advisory frontrunner at PwC. The trade pact also stated that both countries establish “fast-track” procedures for approval of pharmaceutical products from at least one of the regulatory authorities of Australia, Canada, EU, Japan, the U.S., or the U.K.
On test results from accredited laboratories, the document said, “The regulatory authority of the importing party shall accept tests showed by the testing laboratories accredited by the exporting country’s national accreditation body and approved by the regulatory authority of the importing party.”
The importing country, it said, may conduct an additional test, if necessary, in line with its domestic regulations. A letter from the UAE, available on the commerce ministry website, stated that India would not be granted any rights with regards the energy sector. “The agreement shall not grant any rights to India or create any obligations for the UAE or any of its member emirates with regard to the energy resources sector.
The energy resources sector is excluded from all aspects and provisions of the agreement.” But in case the UAE grants any such rights to a third country, “such rights shall be granted to India”. A letter from the India’s Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal acknowledged.
“India-U.A.E. bilateral trade has steadily increased to Rs 4.55 lakh crore in FY2019-20, making the UAE India’s third-largest trading partner,” the commerce ministry said in a statement on Monday. “Indian imports from the UAE were esteemed around Rs 2.2 lakh crore, including import of 21.83 million tonnes of crude oil.” The UAE is an important source of India’s energy supply and a key partner of India in the development of strategic petroleum reserves, upstream, and downstream petroleum sectors, the statement said.
