Amazon and Flipkart Health plus are among the 20 online sellers that have been issued show-cause notices by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) over the online sale of drugs.
The show-cause notice dated February 8 by DCGI cited a Delhi High Court order dated December 12, 2018, which prohibits online sales of medicines without a licence.
The notice stated that the DCGI had forwarded the order to all state and Union Territories in May and November 2019 and again on February 3.
"In spite of the same, you are found to be engaged in such activities without a licence,"
the notice to the online medicine sellers said.
The sale or stock or exhibit or offer for sale or distribution of any drug in India requires a licence from the concerned state licensing authority and conditions of a licence are required to be complied with by the licence holders.
The regulator asked the companies to give a reason why their actions shall not be considered a violation of the provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940.
In case of no reply, “necessary action” will be initiated against the companies “without any further notice.”
Representatives of Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) have demanded the government to strictly enforce the law and the judgment of the Delhi high court and ensure that no e-commerce company is selling medicine violating the Drug and Cosmetic Act.
"Government must take strict action against the e-commerce, e-pharma intermediaries, marketplace platforms including Amazon and Flipkart who are selling the medicine without obtaining the requisite license-added the trade leaders,"
the CAIT statement said.
CAIT added that several online medicine sellers are foreign-controlled and therefore, are ineligible to seek these retail licences as this would be a violation of the extant Foreign Direct Investment policy.
Source: Business Standard
