By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, SEPT 02, 2018: FOR all governments across the world regulating online space has been an uphill task. When it comes to selling medicines, there has been a mushroom growth of e-phamacies. Given the Interpol or WCO reports that a large number of fake or counterfeit medicines are made in India, it has been a matter of serious concern for the Union Government as to how best it can be regulated?

Having done proper legwork the Union Health Ministry has come out with a Draft Notification which proposes that no online pharmacy can offer any medicines unless it is registered. For this purpose, a Central Registry is proposed. The proposed licensing authority would receive applications and process it only on deposit of Rs 50,000/- per application. e-Pharmacies would be under legal obligation not to disclose the information relating to the patients except for the Union Govt or State Governments. An obvious benefit which has been granted is that although the sales can be made on All-India basis but the registration would be required to be taken only in one State.

Such pharmacies would be obliged to buy their stocks directly from pharma companies so that the bulk discounts received could be passed on to consumers. Then each sale has to be made against a cash or credit memo which is to be maintained meticulously.