The Government has removed the 15 percent Customs Duty imposed on imported sanitary napkins and tampons.
The Finance Ministry said it would help reduce or at least keep their prices at current levels by negating the impact of Value Added Tax (VAT) increase from 8 to 12 percent.
The Port and Development Levy (PAL) and CESS on imported sanitary napkins and tampons will continue to remain at 10 per cent and 15 per cent.
The effective tax rate on sanitary napkins is around 37 per cent even after removing the Customs Duty. Prior to the tax revision this rate stood at 52 per cent.A recent research conducted by Advocata Institute found that 50 per cent of households with women of menstruating age could not afford sanitary napkins.
by Daily News Sri Lanka
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