Govt recovers Rs 238.84 crore from drug makers for overcharging

New Delhi: Government has so far recovered an amount of Rs 238.84 crore as fine from pharmaceutical companies for overcharging, Parliament was informed on Tuesday.

In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers Mansukh L Mandaviya said that as of June 30, Rs 238.84 crore has been recovered from the drug firms for non-compliance of provisions of DPCO, 2013.

The minister informed the House that whenever companies are found selling scheduled formulation at prices higher than the ceiling prices fixed by National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), action is taken against such companies under the relevant provisions of Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013.

Similar action is taken whenever companies are found selling non-scheduled formulation at a price which is 10 per cent higher than the MRP of the preceding twelve months, Mandaviya said.

He added that action has also been taken against the companies for launching new drugs without taking prior price approval from the NPPA.

"The concerned companies have been instructed to furnish certified batch wise production and sales details along with the corresponding MRP for the formulations from the date of launch of the product till date," Mandaviya said.