ISLAMABAD: The government has imposed 10 percent service charges in the financial budget 2017-18 for brokers in registration of pharmaceutical companies with Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP). This was stated by the representatives of the Pakistan Young Pharmacist Association (PYPA) and Drugs Lawyers Forum (DLF), in a press conference on Thursday. “It is the first time that corruption is being legalised,” they said. According to the budgetary documents, service providers were required by the tax department to ensure compliance with withholding provisions of ‘agent’s service fees’. “Under the proposed amendment, the agent of third person shall be treated to have been paid service charges or fee by service provider. The service provider shall collect the tax on agent’s service charges along with their service receipts,” the documents reveal. The said that currently the country is passing through from 460 million us dollars annually. While alledeging the DRAP’s chief Aslam Afghani and his helping hands heath minister Saira Afzal Tarar and secretary Ayoob Sheikh, they said that it is just due their corruption. The speakers said that the medicine export ratio in last couple of years had been decreased from $220 million to $120 million. “The reasons behind this is that the pharmaceutical companies have to sell medicines abroad at their actual prices that are far less than in our country,” they said. “A medicine being sold for Rs 250 costs no more than Rs 13. Similarly, the price of a stent is Rs 300. However, it is being sold here in the country for Rs 250,000,” he said. “An Afghani company conducted tests of medicines the through Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR). The council has no mandate to conduct such tests. These tests should be conducted by drug inspectors who are employees of DRAP,” they said.