Medical Devices Sector: CII seeks Government to bring trade margin rationalisation

The government is planning to come out with a Medical Devices Act which is going to be put in public domain shortly, Baid said adding, "The medical devices industry wants that there should be a stakeholders consultation before putting the draft Act in the public domain."

New Delhi: The medical devices sector wants the government to bring in the trade margin rationalisation for its products, as the industry also looks for a single regulatory authority, according to the medical technology division of the CII.

"We want sanity in trade margins for the medical devices sector, which should be between 40 to 60 per cent for the entire supply chain, that is from the first point of sale to the end-user," CII Medical Technology Division Chairman Himanshu Baid told reporters on Wednesday here.

Trade margin rationalisation is important for the sector to grow, he added.

The government is planning to come out with a Medical Devices Act which is going to be put in public domain shortly, Baid said adding, "The medical devices industry wants that there should be a stakeholders consultation before putting the draft Act in the public domain."

Because of certain policies, such as undifferentiated price control on stents and knee implants, the FDI in the medical technology sector declined to USD 184 million in 2017 from a peak of USD 439 million in 2016. It was USD 66 million in 2018, Medical Technology Association of India (MTaI) Director-General and Chairman Pavan Choudary said.

The other important concern of the medical devices sector is lack of singular regulatory authority, Baid said.

As the government is focused on the ease of doing business. The medical devices sector wants the government to help more in ease of doing business on the regulatory front for the sector, he added.

"On the regulatory front, we want that medical devices sector should be regulated by a unified regulator under the Ministry of Health. It should be the nodal ministry for the sector," Baid said.

Read Also: Scaling down customs duty of medical devices in Union budget to increase healthcare affordability, says MTal