Even as the Medical Council of India (MCI)'s recent efforts in curbing the growing trend of bribing of doctors by the pharma companies for promoting their medicines have not borne any results, experts are of the view that the government should amend the relevant sections of the Income Tax Rules under which all facilities with monetary value received by medical professionals from healthcare industry should be deemed to be perquisites in the hands of recipients and hence taxable.
In order to curb the doctors from accepting gifts and other favours from the pharma companies in lieu of prescribing their drugs, the MCI had recently issued a notification under which the doctors who accept any kind of gift from pharma companies will invite cancellation of their registration to practice. In the notification, the MCI had warned the doctors from accepting gifts and other favours like any travel facility inside or outside the country for self and/or family members even for attending conferences, seminars, workshops, CME programme etc.
In spite of the notification, there were reports recently in the media that prominent pharma companies like Dr Reddy's and Piramal had resorted to unethical trade practices. While, Piramal had taken a group of doctors to Turkey, Dr Reddy's had taken the doctors to Hyderabad for some seminars. There are reports that several other companies are also resorting to the same practice, giving scant to regard to the MCI's notification that restraints doctors from accepting gifts.
But, when issue became public, the MCI asked the doctors and the pharma companies to provide details which they did not do so far, prompting the MCI to ask the union health ministry to amend the Drugs and Cosmetics Act to bring the pharma companies also under the ambit of the law in making them punishable for rolling out freebies to the doctors for promoting their medicines.
Experts feel that as the efforts of MCI have so far proved to be a failure to deter the companies from rolling out freebies, stronger and sharper teeth can be added to MCI regulations by amending relevant sections of the Income Tax Rules. “All facilities with monetary value received by medical professionals from healthcare industry should be deemed to be perquisites in the hands of recipients and hence taxable. Similarly all expenses incurred by drug, medical devices and other healthcare companies in violation of MCI rules should be disallowed by amending income tax rules,” said Dr CM Gulhati, well-known health expert and editor of the medical journal MIMS.
He said there is no other mechanism to catch hold of them to end the nexus.