By Many activists and women parliamentarians who are clamoring to bring down taxes on women’s sanitary pads have received a response from the Minister of Health.
Sri Lanka’s Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella on Wednesday said that the higher taxes on women’s sanitary pads are a move to create more opportunities for locally produced sanitary products in the market.
“First thing under the present circumstances, particularly with the downturn of the economy is that you must make it available at a reasonable price and affordable price for everybody to have it rather than making alternative arrangements,”
Minister Rambukwella told at a Twitter Space discussion titled “Policymaking to menstruate with confidence”.
In the local market, both local and imported sanitary pads are available costing between 350- 800 rupees which have become unaffordable to many.
On the 31st of May 2022, the general customs duty on sanitary napkins was removed and the VAT rate was increased from 8% to 12%
