M A I N   N E W S

Tax payers may be charged 2 p.c. health cess
Tribune News Service

Mr Ramvilas Paswan (left), Union Minister for Chemicals, Fertilisers and Steel, with NIPER Director Dr Rama Rao at Mohali on Sunday. — Tribune photo by Vicky Gharu

Mohali, December 18
Medicines will be sold on the maximum retail price (MRP) mentioned on them from April 1, 2006, like all other packaged commodities. All local taxes will be included in the MRP, said the Union Minister for Chemicals, Fertilisers and Steel, Mr Ramvilas Pawan here today.

The Lok Janshakti Party supremo was in town to inaugurate the National Toxicology Centre at the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research.

Stating that this would not mean an increase in MRP since MRP would be frozen, Mr Paswan said this was being done to keep prices of medicines under check. He added that this had been recommended by the high-powered committee headed by Dr Pranab Sen, Principal Advisor, Planning Commission, to look into alternative solutions beyond “controlling of drugs” to keep a tab on prices of medicines.

Mr Paswan said the government was in the process of drawing up a list of life saving drugs which would be provided free of cost to the patients below poverty line.

“We have proposed that a 2 per cent ‘health cess’ be charged from tax payers to provide healthcare free of cost to BPL families. This would be done either through the health insurance schemes or other methods like medicare societies functioning in Rajasthan. The cess would be levied on the central government taxes similar to the 2 per cent education cess being charged and is expected to generate a revenue of Rs 6500 crore,” he said, adding that the government was still considering this proposal of his ministry. Also the government was contemplating making it mandatory for drug companies to mention names of medicines in Hindi, mentioned Mr Paswan.

Stating that the excise rate on pharma industry which was currently 16 per cent would be reduced to 8 per cent, Mr Paswan pointed out that this benefit would be passed on to the consumer and it was estimated that the MRP of medicines would come down by at least 5 per cent.

“Also we are considering a proposal to raise the excise duty exemption limit of small-scale pharma units from Rs 1 crore turnover to Rs 5 crore turnover,” he said.

The minister also informed that a fund worth Rs 560 crore had been created to assist pharma companies for implementing schedule M of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act for good manufacturing practices.

“Through this fund interest subsidy would be provided to those companies which implement schedule M. SIDBI would be the nodal agency to for this purpose,” he said.

Replying to a question regarding fertiliser subsidy benefits not reaching the farmers, Mr Paswan said that the state government needed to be more vigilant in the matter.

“Also we are ending the system of sale certificates from January 1,” he announced. The sale certificates had to be given by the state government for the release of 15 per cent of the fertiliser subsidy. As much as 85 per cent of the subsidy is paid by the government to the fertilizer manufacturer/importer directly.

Asserting that he was still the kingmaker in Bihar, Mr Ramvilas Paswan today said though the Nitish Kumar government in the state had failed to deliver on several fronts, his party would not launch an agitation against it immediately.

“We will remain quiet for one year and if we still think that the government has failed we would launch agitation,” he said, adding that the biggest challenge before the Nitish government was to tackle law and order, corruption and develop Bihar.