• Investment World
• eWorld
• Catalyst
• Mentor
• Life
• Canvas
• Praxis
• Urban Pulse
• Brand Quest

Stocks

• Quotes
• SE Diary
• Scoreboard
• Open-End Mutual Fund

Shipping

• Ports
  
  

Archives

• Yesterday
• Datewise
• Resources

Group Sites

• The Hindu
• Business Line
• The Sportstar
• Frontline
• The Hindu eBooks
• The Hindu Images

Nithya Subramanian

The new norm would put an end to consumer inconvenience due to miscalculations, extra charges and other such problems.

New Delhi , Dec. 29

COME April 2006 and pharmaceutical companies may have to adhere to a new maximum retail pricing (MRP) system that would include all taxes. According to sources in the Chemicals and Fertilisers Ministry, a notification amending the Drug Price Control Order (DPCO) would be issued soon.

They said the Ministry would not have to wait till the Budget to issue such an order and could do so before that. This issue had not been taken up earlier as there was no uniformity in sales tax.

But with the implementation of the value added tax (VAT) in 23 States, MRP inclusive of all taxes could be implemented.

"We hope that next year the other States would also implement VAT. The other State-level taxes that could be included are octroi, entry tax and turnover tax," sources said.

Currently under the Packaged Commodities Rules, 1977, all commodities sold in pre-packaged form must have a label declaring MRP inclusive of all taxes.

While companies manufacturing other packaged goods have already adopted the system, the DPCO currently expects pharma companies to carry the label — `Retail Price not to exceed Rs ... ... local taxes extra'.

Sources said the new norm would put an end to consumer inconvenience due to miscalculations, extra charges and other such problems. "From the consumer's point of view it is most desirable that the total price should be absolutely clear on the pack and uniform all over India," they said. Companies would be given time to switch over to the new system.

The Government has been taking steps to prevent price fluctuation in pharma products. In January this year, it had ruled that excise duty on pharma products would be levied on MRP and not on the factory gate price. It had, however, fixed the abatement rate at 40 per cent.

More Stories on : Regulatory Bodies & Rulings | Pharmaceuticals

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Fog means all-clear to rabi farmers even as pilots fret

Copyright © 2005, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line