Medicine prices to shoot up next month

Posted on: 11 Apr 2012

Thiruvananthapuram: The price of medicines would shoot up from next month as the central government has raised the service tax, excise and customs duty. The increase in value added tax by the state government would also hit the price. 

Traders stated that a hike of 12 % could be seen in most medicine prices. The existing stock of medicines would be distributed at old price and new batches would be given under renewed prices.

During the last three months, medicine prices witnessed 10% hike for medicines manufactured in India and 7 % hike for imported medicines. 

The price of medicines for diabetes, blood pressure, which are being sold in huge quantity, also went up. The price of such medicines, which was Rs 150 to Rs 170, will be more than Rs 190.

Though the government earlier stated that it would intervene to lower the price of essential medicines, they were also not excluded from the extra tax. Efforts to regulate price of medicines by opening Karunya medical stores in each district under the Medical Service Corporation too were not fulfilled. Karunya was opened only in Thiruvananthapuram district.