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Drug retailers threaten stir from March 10

By Our Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, MARCH 2. The All Kerala Chemists and Druggists Association has threatened to launch an indefinite strike by closing down all drug outlets from March 10 to press its demand that the State Government drop its budget proposal to include medicine in Schedule V of the Sales Tax Act and subject it to two-point taxation.

At a press conference here, the association president, N. Mohan, and the secretary, M. Seydu, said that the demand of the pharmaceutical trade was that the tax on medicine should be collected only at the first point of sale to protect the trade from the cascading effect of taxation.

According to the association office-bearers, the new proposal will result in a four to five per cent increase in the price of medicines. In the case of insulin, vaccines, blood, blood plasma and contraceptives, the price increase would amount to 10 per cent as these items, which were earlier exempted from sales tax, had now been brought into the tax net, they said.

The association, which represents 9,000-odd drug retailers, had presented memoranda to the Finance Minister and department officials in this connection even when the pre-budget discussions were in progress, but those had not been favourably considered, they said. The drug dealers should not be held responsible for the shortage of life-saving drugs in the event of the strike, they added.

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