NewsR Staff
The Central government had exempted hand sanitizer from the requirement of sale licence for its stocking or sale.
The move is aimed to make hand sanitizer widely available to the public at large. The chemist and druggist association had been opposing it as it felt the market would be dumped by substandard product as “anyone” would now to able to sell the product that had been an effective took to fight Covid-19.
An official Gazette dated July 27 said that after the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic in India and worldwide, several representations requesting to exempt hand sanitizers from the requirement of sale licence under the provisions of Chapter IV of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and the provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945 for stocking or sale of the drug have been received.
The Central Government is satisfied that hand sanitizers are essential to meet the requirements of emergency arising due to COVID-19 pandemic and their easy availability is made in public interest. The government considers it necessary that hand sanitizers are required to be made widely available to the public at large.
“Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 26B of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 (23 of 1940), the Central Government, hereby directs that the drug, namely, hand sanitizer shall be exempted from the requirement of sale licence for its stocking or sale,” the order that came into force on the date of its publication in the Official Gazette said.
