The Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) has warned the states having pharmacy registration tribunal to abolish them and form state pharmacy councils for the better implementation of Pharmacy Act as well as Pharmacy Practice Regulations, 2015. The PCI will also approach these state governments to abolish the tribunal soon.
In the last meeting with all state pharmacy councils, PCI asked all the states with pharmacy registration tribunal to be replaced with the state pharmacy councils. Appropriate action will be taken by the IPC with prior notice of three months against the pharmacy registration tribunals.
Dr. B Suresh, president of PCI says, “In the 100th PCI meeting with the state pharmacy councils. We have discussed about the abolition of the pharmacy registration tribunals. We want them to take this matter seriously, and they should either state pharmacy councils themselves or we will approach the state governments for the same”.
Dr Suresh informed that Jharkhand still has pharmacy registration tribunal against the high court's order. Some of the bifurcated states like Telangana has formed registration tribunal and North Eastern states of the country have registration tribunals only instead of state pharmacy councils.
As per section 30 in chapter 4 of the Pharmacy Act, 1948, for the purpose of preparing the first register, the state government shall by notification in the official gazette constitute a Registration Tribunal consisting of three persons, and shall also appoint a Registrar who shall act as Secretary of the Registration Tribunal.
The Registrar shall amend the register in accordance with the decisions of the authority appointed under sub section (4) of section 30 and shall thereupon issue to every person whose name is entered in the register a certificate of registration in the prescribed form.
But in some states the power issued to the registration tribunals was misused which has led to the growing cases of fake registrations. The powers of the registration tribunals were given to bifurcate the register of pharmacists for administrative purpose as provisioned under the law. Now, seeing the increasing cases of fake registrations and for proper implementation of Acts, IPC will be approaching the state governments to abolish the registration tribunals.