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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. The Rajasthan High Court has ruled that retesting or resampling of Narcotic and Psychotropic drugs should not be a routine and must be allowed in exceptional circumstances. Applications must be made within 15 days of receiving the test report from Forensic Science Laboratory.
Source: bit.ly/4lDwRZu

2. The Supreme Court of India has ruled that dealing with substances listed in the Schedule of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, even if not listed in Schedule I of the NDPS Rules, is still an offence.
Source: bit.ly/4jGg0TY

3. A preliminary inquiry reportedly revealed that eight doctors and an associate professor at a Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) college conducted unauthorized drug trials on patients with 50+ pharma companies since 2021. Payments were deposited into the doctor’s personal accounts. AMC has suspended the staff involved.
Source: bit.ly/4jGg1Y2

4. The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs has issued instructions to the officers processing GST registration to request only specified documents and avoid raising notices for minor issues. The move is intended to minimize delays and improve ease of doing business.
Source: bit.ly/4jglvJf

5. The Patna High Court has upheld Rule 6 of the Bihar Pharmacist Cadre Rules, 2014, stating that a D. Pharm is mandatory for pharmacist posts in the Bihar Health Department, even for candidates holding higher qualifications like B. Pharm or M. Pharm.
Source: bit.ly/3RteFnB

Posted on

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 National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has approved the upward increase of (+) 1.74028% in the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for all scheduled formulations. Importers and manufacturers of scheduled drugs and medical devices may increase the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) based on this WPI without prior approval from the government.
Source : bit.ly/3DWXVC8
Source : bit.ly/42jXgUs

2. The Central Board of Direct Taxes has raised the threshold of safe harbour provisions for Service Providers who provide R&D services relating to generic pharmaceutical drugs, from INR 200 crore to INR 300 crore.
Safe harbour provisions protect group companies who undertake international related party transactions from transfer pricing scrutiny.
Source: bit.ly/3Rpk3YK

3. A leading beverage brand has moved to Delhi High Court against Food Safety and Standards Authority of India’s ban on using “100% Fruit Juice” claim on label and advertisements of reconstituted fruit juices. The court denied an interim stay and set next hearing on April 1, 2025.
Source: bit.ly/3DUIZnX

4. The Supreme Court of India has ordered all states to set up a grievance redressal mechanism for misleading advertisements of medicines and cures within two months. It has directed all the authorities to take quick action, file cases if needed, and raise public awareness. The central government is also directed to finalize the complaint dashboard within three months.
Source: bit.ly/3FKNjXq

5. European Union has reportedly proposed to update the cosmetic ingredient glossary in Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, replacing Commission Implementing Decision. This aims to standardize ingredient labeling and improve ingredient identification. The proposal, announced on March 13, 2025, is expected to be approved by second quarter of 2025.
Source: bit.ly/4c60PRH

Posted on

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. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has issued an Expression of Interest (EoI) for organizations, companies, and manufacturers to develop and produce a lateral flow-based point-of-care device for serum ferritin quantification. Serum ferritin is an important biomarker for diagnosing iron deficiency or anemia. The deadline for submitting the EoI is February 28, 2025.
Source: bit.ly/4jCmvrJ

2. The Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) has requested pharmacists facing registration issues on the DIGI-PHARMed portal due to existing identity proof in the system, to submit their details along with a declaration. This initiative is part of the Council’s efforts to eliminate fake or incorrect data by blocking incomplete entries and asking affected pharmacists to create new profiles with valid information.
Source: bit.ly/3Ee0e3q

3. The Federation of Pharma Entrepreneurs (FOPE) is urging the Union government to address GST rationalization due to challenges like low liquidity and increasing compliance burdens in the pharmaceutical industry. FOPE highlighted that the current GST structure has created an inverted duty structure, causing significant working capital blockages and operational inefficiencies, which impacts the critical role of the Indian pharma sector in healthcare, employment, and exports.
Source: bit.ly/3WC6Nmu

4. The National Medical Commission (NMC) is investigating around 30 doctors who took foreign trips to Monaco and Paris, sponsored by a drug manufacturer under the pretext of a dermatology conference. The doctors may face censure or suspension from the Indian Medical Register for three months to over a year, depending on the severity of the violation. This follows a reprimand from the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) over the drug company’s sponsorship of the Rs 1.91 crore trips.
Source: bit.ly/4aCPis9

5. India’s Chhattisgarh High Court has ruled that when determining whether a mixture of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances constitutes a “small quantity” or “commercial quantity,” both the quantity of the offending drug and the neutral substance mixed with it should be considered.
Source: bit.ly/4jAW8Ti

Posted on

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 Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has set a Deal Value Threshold (DVT) of ₹2,000 crore for mergers and acquisitions under the Competition (Amendment) Act, 2023. Transactions wherein the target company having substantial business in India if exceeds the given threshold, will have to obtain prior approval from the Competition Commission of India (CCI).
Source: bit.ly/3MGohZM

2. Ayurvedic businesses seeking to advertise ayurvedic drugs in Kerala must reportedly must secure permission from Kerala Drugs Control Department before making misleading and exaggerated claims via advertising. Advertisements made without approval will face legal repercussions.
Source: bit.ly/3AYOsbu

3. India’s Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has issued Environmental Compensation (EC) guidelines to address non-compliance with Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) registration requirements, non-fulfilment of EPR obligations, non-filing of annual returns, among other violations under the E-waste Management Rules, 2022. These guidelines also regulate the cost of EPR certificates for fulfilling EPR obligations.
Source: bit.ly/3B05aY8

4. India’s Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council has decided to reduce the tax rate on cancer drugs – Trastuzumab Deruxtecan, Osimertinib and Durvalumab to 5% from the previous tax rate of 12%. The Council is reportedly set to finalize reductions in tax rates for health and life insurance premiums in its next meeting in November 2024.
Source: bit.ly/3zd6NB2

5. Medical Colleges in India must reportedly meet the safety and security measures of women doctors, nurses and students to get recognition from the Medical Education Regulator, National Medical Commission.
Source: bit.ly/3XEGNrT 

Posted on

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