The Kerala Private Pharmacists Association (KPPA) has urged the Union health ministry and the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) to refrain from the decision to increase the licence fee for medical shop to Rs.30,000 from the existing Rs.3,000.

KPPA, in association with like-minded associations of pharma fraternity from across the country, will hold a Parliament march on February 24 in New Delhi urging the government to withdraw from the move to hike the fees, association sources informed Pharmabiz.

The DCGI last month had issued the draft order for the fee hike for pharmacies and for manufacturing companies for registration of domestically manufactured new products, registration for importing medicines (licence) and also for registering such imported pharmaceutical products. The national regulator has invited suggestions from all stakeholders and a final decision on this will be taken in the second week of next month, according to sources.

The licence fee for pharmacies has been increased to tenfold of the existing amount. If the new draft becomes the Rule, a medical shop owner has to pay Rs.30,000 in place of the existing Rs.3,000.

KPPA alleges that the Union government has hidden agenda to support online pharmacies and multinational companies in pharma trade in India and this tendency of the government will completely expunge the pharmacy business of the poor Indian pharmacists. O C Naveen Chand, the president and K R Dinesh Kumar, the general secretary of the association said the financial burden for running a medical store in small scale capacity is increasing day by day and it has to compete with pharmacies in the cooperative and government sectors. The expenses incurred for room rent, power supply, employing staffs, etc are becoming a huge burden for the small scale drug traders, especially in rural pharmacies. With this, the increase in the licence fee will help only to collapse the retail business of the qualified unemployed pharmacists in the country. Several pharmacists and associating staffs will become jobless by this fee hike, they said.

All over India, several associations of manufacturing companies are also raising opposition against the Union government in hiking the registration fee for licence and new products.

Dinesh Kumar said KPPA has sent one memorandum to the Union health minister and one to the DCGI requesting them to reconsider the decision. The association will also seek the support of All Kerala Chemists and Druggists Association and other trade bodies in the national level for their support.