The Union Finance Ministry has decided to waive off all the taxes involved in the import of a life-saving drug for a child from Kerala suffering from a serious spinal issue.
In a Facebook post, IUML MP from Kerala E T Muhammed Basheer said Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has informed him about the decision to waive off all the taxes involved in import of the medicine for 18-month-old Muhammed who is suffering from spinal muscular atrophy, a rare and fatal genetic disease.
"We had successfully raised a total sum of ₹46 crore for our SMA patient Muhammed of Mattool. I had earlier requested the Hon'ble Union finance minister to waive off all the tax worth crores, and now she has informed me of its approval via a formal letter," Basheer said.
The Lok Sabha member thanked Sitharaman for her help.
"Our heartfelt thanks to the minister and all! Together we have overcome the obstacle of not being able to import the medicine. We can finally begin the treatment immediately," Basheer wrote on his Facebook page.
The medicine would have to be procured from abroad and the treatment committee had petitioned the state government to initiate the process for procurement The crowdfunding campaign for Muhammed was taken over by social media, resulting in raising the amount within seven days from across the world.
The treatment committee of the 18-month-old toddler has said it received over ₹46 crore through crowdfunding for his treatment.
It said the amount will be used for his treatment requiring a dose of Zolgensma, which is considered as one of the most expensive drugs in the world, and the rest of the amount will be used as per the direction of the state government.
Over 7.77 lakh people have contributed to the treatment fund in the bank account.
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