2026-01-12T12:32:46+00:00
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Shafaq News
In Iraq,
where the healthcare system depends heavily on imported medicines, even the
suggestion of changes to customs tariffs can ripple quickly through pharmacies,
markets, and households. That tension resurfaced after reports circulated that
new customs tariff schedules took effect from January 1, 2026, raising fears of
higher medicine prices.
The Iraqi
Pharmacists Syndicate moved swiftly, cautioning that the measures could
unsettle the pharmaceutical market and disrupt the country’s tightly regulated
pricing system. Iraqi officials pushed back, framing the move as a technical
“correction” rather than the introduction of new taxes. Yet market behavior has
pointed in another direction, with price volatility, trader unease, and public
confusion exposing deeper institutional fragilities in Iraq’s economy.
Tenfold
Increase
Speaking to
Shafaq News, Haider Fouad Al-Sayegh, head of the Iraqi Pharmacists Syndicate,
described the issue as highly sensitive. Appeals from pharmacists importing
medicines and pharmaceutical raw materials, he explained, revealed a clear
increase in customs tariffs scheduled to take effect during January.
The change
surfaced during the completion of pre-declarations in the ASYCUDA system, where
tariffs appeared to rise from 0.5% to 5% on medicines and could reach 30% on
other items, based on Cabinet Decision No. 957 of 2025, an increase amounting
to ten times the previous rate. Attached schedules to Cabinet decisions
reflected the shift explicitly, Al-Sayegh noted, warning that such an
adjustment would feed directly into medicine prices paid by consumers.
The
syndicate formally addressed the prime minister and the health minister, urging
authorities to halt any changes to medicine tariffs due to their immediate
impact on the national drug pricing framework.
Conflicting
Explanations
The General
Customs Authority later indicated that no actual change had been enacted,
attributing the figures appearing in tariff tables to a “printing error.” An
official correction, the authority said, remains pending.
At the same
time, the syndicate has tracked updates to the ASYCUDA pre-declaration system
by the General Tax Authority, seeking to ensure alignment with the anticipated
correction and avoid disruptions to import procedures.
Medicines,
Al-Sayegh stressed, occupy a unique position in Iraq’s market. They are the
only commodities subject to centralized official pricing, with import and
production costs forming the backbone of the final retail price. Any increase
in those costs, he cautioned, would be reflected immediately at the pharmacy
counter.
Read more: Delayed reform or fiscal shock? Iraq’s tax measures test state capacity
Pricing
Under Pressure
From an
economic standpoint, international economics professor Nawar Al-Saadi told
Shafaq News that public concern over additional fees or taxes on medicines is
“well-founded,” noting that pharmaceuticals are essential goods rather than
discretionary purchases.
Even if
reported increases prove inaccurate, Al-Saadi said, any added cost at the
import stage would almost inevitably reach consumers, given Iraq’s near-total
reliance on foreign suppliers and the dollar-linked nature of medicine pricing.
Sound fiscal policy, he added, requires a clear distinction between luxury
goods and essential items, warning that poorly calibrated measures risk placing
additional pressure on patients without stabilizing the market or delivering
meaningful reform.
Despite
official denials, uncertainty has already filtered into daily transactions.
Some pharmacies and shops have raised prices on certain medications, reflecting
caution among traders and distributors navigating unclear signals.
Speaking to
our agency, Ali, a 54-year-old Baghdad resident, described growing anxiety over
the cost of medicines needed for chronic conditions. Rising prices, he said,
have at times forced delays in purchasing treatment or a turn toward
lower-quality alternatives, affecting thousands of families, particularly
elderly citizens and those on limited incomes.
Amid the
debate, the General Customs Authority released a statement affirming that
reports of a “tenfold increase” in customs tariffs on medicines do not reflect
current legislative or executive practice. The 0.5% tariff on medicines remains
unchanged.
The
authority clarified that adjustments applied only to certain medical supplies,
where tariffs increased from 4% to 5% as part of an effort to standardize rates
previously applied inconsistently. Essential medicines and humanitarian medical
items, it said, continue to benefit from legal exemptions and facilitation
measures.
Even so, the
Iraqi Pharmacists Syndicate has maintained that any shift in import-related
costs —regardless of scale— carries the risk of higher retail prices and supply
disruptions, with potential consequences for medicine availability across the
country.
Read more: Home or Hope? The Impossible Choice for Iraqi Cancer Patients
Written and
edited by Shafaq News staff.
