Stories
Supreme Court Questions 16% Medicine Margin: Why Not All Drugs?
M
Moneycontrol•29-09-2026, 14:16
Supreme Court Questions 16% Medicine Margin: Why Not All Drugs?
- •The Supreme Court questioned why the 16% retailer margin, currently applied to some drugs, couldn't extend to all medicines, including essential, non-essential, patented, and generic drugs.
- •Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta deferred the hearing to October 12, addressing petitions on medicine prices, medical devices, and mandatory generic drug prescriptions.
- •The bench also scrutinized hospitals' practice of requiring patients to purchase medicines and devices from in-house pharmacies, questioning patient choice and maximum retail pricing.
- •The court highlighted a significant price gap, citing an example where a cancer medicine retailed at Rs 27,000 was supplied to retailers for Rs 2,700.
- •The 16% retailer margin is currently used in calculating ceiling prices for scheduled formulations and retail prices for certain new drugs under the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013, but does not apply uniformly to all medicines.
Key Questions Answered
The Supreme Court questioned why the 16% retailer margin used in parts of India's drug price-control framework could not be universally applied across essential, non-essential, patented, and generic medicines.
A bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta deferred the ongoing hearing regarding medicine prices, medical devices, and generic drug prescriptions to October 12.
The bench questioned whether patients have any real choice when hospitals require them to purchase medicines and devices exclusively from in-house pharmacies that charge the maximum retail price.
