Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to permanently removing the six per cent import duty on urine drainage bags by re-classifying them as medical devices under the UK Global Tariff regime.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Lainston - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
In 2021 the Government implemented temporary tariff suspensions on a set of goods, including urine drainage bags, to support the healthcare response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Government has extended the majority of these suspensions until 31 December 2023.
HM Revenue and Customs has reviewed the classification of urine drainage bags and although these are used in conjunction with medical products (e.g. catheters), they are not considered to be medical devices. As such they are classified as articles of plastic (tariff heading 3926). This is in line with classification decisions previously issued by the World Custom Organization, which member countries are expected to follow. Businesses can direct queries on classification to classification.enquiries@hmrc.gov.uk or through this link https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-revenue-customs/contact/customs-international-trade-and-excise-enquiries.
The Government have recently received stakeholder feedback on tariffs on urine drainage bags. We are considering the evidence provided alongside wider UK Government analysis.