New Delhi : In order to bring down drug prices, a high level panel has recommended capping the trade margins at 35% on all the drugs with MRP of above Rs 50, reports PTI.
“The committee recommends putting a cap on trade margins to control exorbitant trade margins which fleece consumers,” the panel said in it’s report. For drugs priced between Rs 20-50, the panel has proposal to cap the margin at 40 per cent. It also recommended capping the margin at 50 per cent for the drugs priced from Rs 2-20.
However, the panel proposed no capping of trading margin on the medicine priced up to Rs 2. Trading margin is the margin which wholesalers and retailers earn by selling the medicines. Besides, the committee has also recommended capping margins on all drugs including stents and orthopedic implants.
According to sources, Chemists and wholesalers are charging margins as high as 1,000 per cent in case of some medicines. Therefore, there is a huge difference between the cost of medicine to the retailer and its selling price.
