The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) under the Union Commerce Ministry has come out with Duty Entitlement Pass Book Scheme (DEPB) rates for all drug formulations that were not having specific DEPB rates until now. The DEPB rates for all such drugs would be a particular percentage of the DEPB rate of its bulk drug content.

As per the DGFT directive announced recently DEPB rates for all injections, syrup and oral suspension for which no specific DEPB rates have been notified would be 60 per cent of the DEPB rate for the relevant bulk drug. The percentage will be 70 for tablets and capsules and 65 for intravenous infusions.

The only exception to this directive is for those drugs that come under the list of life saving formulations (formulations containing bulk drugs/medicines/life saving drugs including their salts and esters as given in S.No.83 and 93 of the table Annexed to Customs Notification no. 21/2002, dated.1.3.2002 as amended). These formulations do not carry any DEPB rates.

Based on the data submitted by the industry, the DGFT had recently completed the process of reviewing the DEPB rates of all drugs and pharmaceuticals which carried a rate tag of 15 per cent or more. The announcement of revised and new rates last month came after the authorities carried out proper analysis of the FOB value of exports and CIF value of inputs used in the export products.

As per the new announcement, all formulations containing L Lysine, L Lysine mono hydrochloride, DL Methionine or Methionine Hydroxy, Analog, Nilutamide, Sodium fusidate, Low molecular weight heparin or Erythropoeitin, Doxorubicin Hcl, Cyclosporine, Azathioprine, Enoxaparin will now have 5 per cent (Injections, Syrup/oral suspension), 7 per cent (tablets/capsules) and 6 per cent (intravenous infusions) DEPB rates.

The revised DEPB rates for formulations (injections, syrup/oral suspension, tablets/capsules, intravenous infusions) of bulk drugs Codeine Phosphate or Narcotics imported by Government Opium & Alkaloids is 2 per cent. The DEPB rates for formulations of bulk drug not coming under any of the above categories are as follows - Injections/syrup/oral suspension (5 per cent), tablets/capsules (7 per cent) and intravenous infusions (6 per cent).