"Hungary will not abolish the 12% tax local pharmaceutical producers are obliged to pay on reimbursed drugs and the HUF 5 million registration fee on each medical representative, which was thrown out by the Constitutional Court in June, is expected to be re-introduced, Health Minister Tamás Székely told business daily Világgazdaság on Wednesday. The news is no surprise; it only confirms earlier market expectations.
Székely said the Constitutional Court ruled not against the HUF 5 m registration fee to be paid a year but only against the practice to claim this fee even if the medical representative is off work, e.g. due to illness, maternity leave, holiday, etc., as this way they effectively taxed money that was not earned.
The drug makers are, of course, against the re-introduction of the fee, saying that it is not only against EU regulations, but also discriminative and companies employing medical representatives would be forced to cut staff. Moreover, the companies receive nothing in return for the fee.
The ministry and the drug manufacturers will meet for negotiations next week. The producers want to achieve that price changes are implemented only every six, not every three months."
Source: Portfolio Online Financial Journal
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10.09.2008