Value Added Tax on health protective masks has been slashed to 5% in a bid to make them more affordable for the public, Economy Minister Silvio Schembri said in parliament on Wednesday.

Schembri had been at loggerheads with the Chamber of Pharmacists in the wake of his decision to cap prices of masks at 95c, following a decision by the health authorities to oblige shoppers and bus commuters to wear them as from last Monday.

His decision had prompted protests from pharmacists, who complained they would suffer losses as they had bought the masks from their providers at a much higher price.

The dispute was resolved on Monday when the government agreed to compensate pharmacists for any losses they would incur due to the price cap.

Asked during question time if there had been any further developments, Schembri said that Cabinet had agreed to lower VAT on this particular product from 18% to 5%, as a further measure to make masks affordable for the public.

He noted that other countries had also imposed price caps, but pointed out that the decision to fix the price at 95c was taken to ensure this would not jeopardise the country’s supply.

“Being pro-business does mean being led by business,” he remarked.

“Certain mask prices went overboard and this Labour government felt that it had to intervene,” the minister added.

Schembri said that the price cap had achieved the desired effect and some vendors were even selling the masks at lower prices.  

He added that in the coming days, vendors who had acquired masks at a higher price than the set threshold would be given the opportunity to apply for a refund on the strength of the invoice being presented.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.