TOP 5 HEALTH LAWS AND POLICY UPDATES

Dear Readers, we are happy to share the most interesting legal and policy updates concerning health industry that we read today. we hope you enjoy reading it.

1. India’s Supreme Court has ruled that volume-based discounts are lawful and do not constitute discriminatory pricing, for such discounts to be considered discriminatory they must be applied unequally to similarly situated buyers in comparable transactions.
Source: bit.ly/4mghWEN

2. India’s Supreme Court has issued a notice to the central government on a petition seeking to make it mandatory for hospitals and clinical establishments to display service rates and charge fees within limits set by the Centre, in consultation with state governments. The Court noted that the failure to enforce this requirement stems from the government’s failure to specify the service charge limits which potentially impacts citizens’ fundamental right to healthcare.
Source: bit.ly/4jXJ75U

3. The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has upheld a government advisory requiring retail and wholesale pharmacies to install CCTV cameras and adopt computerized billing systems. This measure aims to curb the sale of prohibited drugs and enhance transparency in pharmaceutical operations.
Source: bit.ly/4mgjrCV

4. In a proposed Free Trade Agreement with the UK, India has reportedly decided to reduce import duties on medical devices under the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme starting only from the sixth year. This phased approach aligns consumer needs with the Make in India programme, aiming to protect domestic manufacturers while gradually opening market access for UK exporters.
Source: bit.ly/4mlyPy8

5. The U.S. government’s order to align domestic drug prices with global rates may impact Indian pharmaceutical firms, many of which rely heavily on U.S. revenues. Though primarily targeting Big Pharma, the move could subject Indian generic manufacturers to pricing pressure, potentially disrupting their business models and profitability.
Source: bit.ly/4dkH0Xt

TOP 5 HEALTH LAWS AND POLICY UPDATES

Dear Readers, we are happy to share the most interesting legal and policy updates concerning health industry that we read today. we hope you enjoy reading it.

1. India’s Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has issued notices to popular e-commerce platforms for selling walkie-talkies without mandatory disclosures such as operating frequencies, licensing requirements, or Equipment Type Approval. This violates the E-commerce Rules and misleads consumers into believing these wireless devices can be freely operated without regulatory clearance.
Source: bit.ly/42RYUx2

2. The Government of India has directed the Department of Pharmaceuticals, along with the National Health Systems Resource Centre (NHSRC), to identify essential drugs, enhance their availability, and implement price controls to ensure affordability aiming to mitigate combat-related health risks during the ongoing conflict.
Source: bit.ly/4jQwcm9

3. Music companies are taking legal action against influencers for using copyrighted songs commercially in paid social media posts without proper permission or licenses. According to a popular social media platform policy, licensed music is allowed only for personal, non-commercial use and not for branded content.
Source: bit.ly/3GOLxoK

4. US President is reportedly set to bring an executive order that seeks to cut prescription drug prices by using global benchmarks and bringing in “most favored nation” pricing into play. The U.S. will match the lowest price paid by any nation, potentially impacting Indian exporters’ profit margins.
Source: bit.ly/43kJiBk

5. India and the UK have finalized a free trade agreement, where India has agreed to reduce import duties on the British products, including Scotch whisky, gin, and cars. However, India is protecting its farmers and local producers by maintaining duties on sensitive agricultural items like dairy, apples, cheese, and oats.
Source: bit.ly/3GK4bOG

TOP 5 HEALTH LAWS AND POLICY UPDATES

Dear Reader, we are happy to share the most interesting legal and policy updates concerning health industry that we read today. We hope you enjoy reading it.

1. India’s Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has restored the concessional 10% import duty on lab chemicals starting August 1, with the condition that the importers declare that the goods will be used for lab or R&D purposes only, and will not be traded or sold after import. However, undenatured ethyl alcohol remains excluded and continues to face a 150% duty.
Source: bit.ly/3yjWrPv

2. India’s Union Health Ministry has urged the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Sports Authority of India (SAI) to take measures to prevent surrogate advertising of tobacco and alcohol products by sportspersons. This move aims to curb indirect promotion of such products through sports sponsorship and advertising, and to safeguard public health and prevent the normalization of tobacco and alcohol consumption.
Source: bit.ly/3WKcaRg

3. India’s Union Minister, on behalf of life insurance corporation employees, has requested India’s Finance Minister to withdraw the 18% GST imposed on life and medical insurance premiums as high tax rate is burdensome and could negatively impact the accessibility and affordability of essential insurance services.
Source: bit.ly/4c5QXWd

4. India’s state consumer forum has directed an insurance company to pay the mediclaim to the claimant on the grounds that pre-existing conditions of diabetes mellitus cannot be the cause for cardiac arrest as diabetes is a lifestyle related ailment and denial of entire mediclaim is not acceptable when such ailment is so pervasive in India.
Source: bit.ly/4d6iDLZ

5. India’s AYUSH ministry has disclosed that it has received 38,539 complaints of misleading advertisements related to Ayush drugs in the last seven years. These complaints have been reported to the State Licensing Authorities (SLAs) for further action.
Source: bit.ly/4c84cpt