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When hand sanitizer was scarce in March, hundreds of distilleries jumped in and made it themselves. To do this, they had to register as drug manufacturers, who have to pay user fees each year to the government.
Earlier this week, the United States Food and Drug Administration, an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services, fined each of the distilleries $ 15,000, according to a senior HHS official.
But the department overturned the fine on Thursday, saying it was blamed on the distilleries in error.
“Small businesses that have come together to fight Covid-19 should be applauded by their government, not taxed for it. I am happy to report that we have ordered the FDA to stop applying these arbitrary user fees. and surprises, ”Brian Harrison, HHS ‘chief of staff, said in a statement.
“Happy New Year, Distilleries, and kudos to you for helping us keep us safe!” he added.
Harrison said the distilleries were billed “in error” and the charges had not been cleared by HHS management.
“Many of them are more of small businesses, artisanal distilleries, and their businesses and livelihoods have been damaged by the closure of restaurants,” he said. “But they jumped into the fray and joined the fight against Covid. It was nothing short of heroic. They are American heroes.”
As the pandemic began earlier this year, the supply of hand sanitizer plummeted as people stocked up to try to ward off the coronavirus.
To meet the increased demand, some distillers have started using alcohol in their facilities to create their own alcohol-based solutions. Some packed it in small bottles, while others encouraged people to bring their own containers to refill them.
“Due to recent reports of outages and low supply in our community, we have decided to provide free hand sanitizer to anyone in need. Made with aloe vera gel and 95% ethanol,” one of those companies, Old Fourth Distillery in Atlanta, said at the time.
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