On April 3, 2020, the European Commission approved requests from Member States and the United Kingdom (UK) to temporarily waive customs duties and VAT on the import of protective equipment, testing kits and medical devices such as ventilators, under below conditions (as per Council Regulation (EC) 1186/2009 and Council Directive 2009/132/EC):
- It can be applied by State organisations or approved charitable or philanthropic organisations, or disaster relief agencies;
- The import of these goods must be for the benefit of disaster victims;
- The goods are distributed or made available free of charge to the persons affected by or at risk from COVID-19 or involved in combating it;
- It will apply for a period of 6 months, with a possibility for further extension.
Link to European Commission press release: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_20_575
Link to the Commission decision:
