Companies told to revise MRP of duty-waived medicines

NEW DELHI: The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has asked drug manufacturers and associated marketing companies to revise the maximum retail price (MRP) of the medicines and formulations on which the government has removed customs duty in this year's budget.

In an office memorandum dated February 17, the nodal agency for price regulation has also directed these companies to issue a revised price list indicating the changes in rates for the benefit of dealers and regulators.

ET has reviewed a copy of the office memo.


"All the manufacturers and marketing companies selling drugs mentioned in the referred notification are required to revise the MRP of drugs/formulations on account of reduction/exemption of custom duty," it said in the office memo.

The NPPA has also told the manufacturers that the information needs to be submitted and that they should issue a price list or supplementary price list to the dealers, state drug controllers and the government, indicating the changes, the memo said.

The NPPA said that as per the Drugs (Price Control) Order of 2013, the MRP of drugs/formulations is inclusive of taxes and duties, as applicable. "Hence any downward change in duties/taxes should be reflected in the MRP and the benefit of nil duty/reduction should be passed on to the consumers," it said.

In the budget this year, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed to fully exempt 36 lifesaving drugs from Customs duty.

The medicines include onasemnogene abeparvovec (used for the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy in children), asciminib (for chronic myeloid leukemia) and monoclonal antibody mepolizumab (for severe asthma).