The Africa Centre for Tax Policy Research (ACTOR) has joined calls for the removal of tax and import duties on dialysis consumables to ease the cost of treatment for renal patients.

In the past week, the conversation on dialysis treatment has been brought to the fore following the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital’s abortive 100% increment in the cost of dialysis treatment.

The hospital had blamed the removal of tax and import duty exemptions as the cause of the price hike.

According to KBTH, if the old charges are maintained, the dialysis facility would have to shut down in a matter of days.

Commenting on the issue, ACTOR said it has “taken note of the discussions in the media highlighting that over 90% of Ghanaian kidney failure patients either cannot afford dialysis, due to its high cost, or lack access to it.”

According to the organisation, an immediate measure government can take to cool down prices of the procedure is to remove the 5% import duty and taxes imposed on consumables.

“Currently, dialysis consumable items such as Dialysers, Introducer Needle, AV Fistula Needle, Blood Tubing Set, Transducer Protector, Single Lumen Hemodialysis Catheter, Double Lumen Hemodialysis Catheter, and Triple Lumen Hemodialysis Catheter currently incur a minimum of 5% import duty and taxes under the First Schedule of the Customs Act, 2015 (Act 891), as amended, classified under the HS Code heading 90.18. The added expenses due to these taxes are often transferred to patients in the form of higher prices.

“ACTOR firmly believes that these consumables should be exempt from all taxes and levies, to make Dialysis treatment more affordable for all individuals suffering kidney malfunction,” it stated.

It urged the Ministry of Finance to, as a matter of urgency, submit proposals for “amendment of the Customs Act and any other relevant legislation that imposes charges on this essential commodity.”