Importing of medicine takes place by evading GST: Chemists and Druggists Association of Assam

GUWAHATI: Chemists and Druggists Association of Assam (CDAA) secretary Jitu Barman made an alarming revelation that some drug licence holders, who are not authorized stockists, are infiltrating or importing medicines and life-saving drugs from unreliable sources outside Assam by evading GST, thereby causing a threat to the authorized distribution channel of medicines as well as public health. This is happening despite the existence of manufacturers' depots in Guwahati, he said.

Speaking to the media here today, Barman said, "The annual turnover of the pharma industry in India is approximately Rs. 1.9 lakh crore. It becomes difficult for the manufacturers or authorities to keep track of and trace the batches of medicines. A strong action against such dealers is necessary to bring discipline to the region."

Barman said that with a lot of regulations and compliance coming in respect of Schedule X, H, and H1 to the retailers under the Drugs and Cosmetic Act, 1940 Rules, 1945, it is worth mentioning that such a situation will lead to loss of control of the Government Agency and authorized trade will collapse just as government agencies lose control on some uncontrolled and unorganized sectors of distribution of food grains and vegetables, etc.

According to Barman, such a situation in the medicine trade will attract spurious drugs, substandard drugs, and habit-forming drugs, threatening the health of society. "The assured quality of the medicines cannot be monitored for unauthorised and unorganised channels, including maintenance of the cold chain system, efficacy, and medicine safety standards for medicines like injections, vaccines, insulin, etc., which require such temperatures for storage as well as transportation. Some of the unreliable wholesalers are going unnoticed, circulating some habit-forming drugs as well as spurious drugs," he added.

Barman further said that such a situation has also threatened the employment of more than two lakh people employed in the pharmaceutical trade, including sales promotion employees, followed by the livelihood of family members to the tune of more than 10 lakh in Assam.

"We demand immediate action from the Government to control such unreliable or unauthorised sources in the public interest, including direct home delivery of medicines by such sources of doubtful category," he added.

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