C N Manjunath requests Nirmala Sitharaman to reduce custom duty on radiotherapy equipment

New Delhi: Bengaluru Rural BJP Lok Sabha member C N Manjunath on Thursday met Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman here and requested her to reduce import duty on radiotherapy equipment and medicines used in immunotherapy to treat cancer patients.

In his memorandum, Manjunath said that, "In recent times, due to various reasons including changes in dietary habits and lifestyle, the number of cancer patients has been significantly increasing. The central government has already provided customs duty exemptions on many medicines used for chemotherapy to benefit patients suffering from cancer."

"As part of advanced treatment to completely recover from cancer, there is a need for immunotherapy alongside chemotherapy. Currently, immunotherapy treatment costs approximately 20-50 lakh per patient, " he said.

In this context, granting exemptions on customs duties on medicines used for immunotherapy and radiotherapy equipment imported from abroad will reduce the cost of cancer treatment, benefiting millions of poor people and enabling the provision of quality treatment at affordable rates, he said in the plea.

"The Minister responded positively to my request and assured that action would be taken on this matter as soon as possible," he posted on X.