Drug regulator meets pharma sector bodies on GST and supply

NEW DELHI: National drug pricing regulator National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has said it has held meetings with pharma sector associations on GST and ensured uninterrupted supply of drugs across the country.

The regulator had earlier said it would hold meetings on June 1-2 with various industry bodies on GST and ensure supply of drugs, besides discussing other issues related to the sector.

These bodies include Indian Drug Manufacturers Association (IDMA), Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA), Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI) and All India organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD).

"NPPA holds fruitful discussions with industry and trade associations to ensure uninterrupted supply of drugs on implementation of GST," National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) said it a tweet.

The drug pricing regulator, however, did not elaborate on the outcome of the discussions.

The NPPA is mandated to fix/revise the prices of controlled bulk drugs and formulations and to enforce prices and availability of the medicines in the country.

It also monitors the prices of decontrolled drugs in order to keep them at reasonable levels.

The regulator implements and enforces the provisions of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order.

The regulator is also entrusted with the task of recovering amounts overcharged by manufacturers for the controlled drugs from the consumers.