NPPA issued notice worth Rs 2,328.5 cr for drug overpricing

The government today said demand notices worth up to Rs 2,328.53 crore were issued to pharma firms for drug overpricing between August 27, 1997 and January 31, 2011, out of which only Rs 207.86 crore has been realised.

"On detection of overcharging cases since inception of NPPA on August 27, 1997 and till January 31, 2011, NPPA has issued demand notices in 786 no of cases involving an amount of Rs 2,328.53 crore...," Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers Srikant Kumar Jena said in a written reply in Lok Sabha.

This amount includes overcharging and interest for selling medicines at a price higher than the prices fixed under Drugs Price Control Order (DPCO) 1995, he added.

"Of this Rs 207.86 crore has been realised. Out of this, an amount of Rs 1,930.41 crore is under litigation and pending in various courts and Rs 33.72 crore is pending for recovery with collectors of various states," Jena added.

The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) initiates action of overcharging against the companies as per provisions of the DPCO' 1995 and the Essential Commodities Act, 1955.