Centre caps trade margin on oxygen concentrators at 70%

To keep a check on the price, the Central government has capped the trade margin on oxygen concentrators at 70%.

The trade margin has been capped at 70% on the price to distributor level on oxygen concentrators. This decision has been taken because of the extraordinary circumstances arising due to the pandemic which has resulted in volatility in Maximum Retail Prices (MRP) of oxygen concentrators, the Chemicals and Fertilisers Ministry said in a statement on Friday.

As per information collected by the government, the margin on the oxygen concentrators at the distributor level currently ranges up to 198 per cent, it added.

The government has thus decided to step in to regulate the price of oxygen concentrators, the release said.

"By invoking extraordinary powers under Para 19 of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013 in the larger public interest, NPPA ((National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority) has capped the trade margin up to 70 per cent on price to distributor (PTD) level on oxygen concentrators," the release said.

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"Trade margin has been capped in consumer interest to ensure its continued availability at an affordable price during the pandemic," Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilisers Sadananda Gowda tweeted.

"The price regulation will safeguard profitability and prohibit profiteering at the cost of the consumer during the pandemic," he added.

The order shall be applicable up to 30th November 2021, subject to review.

Revised MRPs will be informed in the public domain within a week by NPPA, it added.

Based on the notified trade margin, NPPA has instructed the manufacturers/importers to report revised MRP within three days.

With the spurt in cases during the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country, demand for Medical Oxygen has increased considerably.

The government is striving to ensure an uninterrupted supply of oxygen and oxygen concentrators in adequate quantity in the country during the pandemic.

The oxygen concentrator is a Non-Scheduled Drug and presently under the voluntary licensing framework of Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO). Its price is being monitored under the provisions of DPCO 2013, the release said.