RSS-affiliated body urges Centre to scrap mandatory cough syrup export tests
Laghu Udyog Bharati
(LUB), which supports the small-scale industry, has urged the government to drop the requirement of compulsory testing of cough syrups at a
government-approved laboratory
before exports, stating that it leads to delays and increased cost.
India made the testing compulsory following reports that linked the death of several children in Gambia to "made in India" cough syrups.
"For the manufacturers and exporters, these are areas of concern as it results in potential delays and increased costs, particularly for export shipments," LUB all India general secretary
Om Prakash Gupta
wrote in a letter dated May 10 to
union health minister JP Nadda
.
He requested the minister to "provide a viable solution" addressing the concerns of the pharma industry.
According to the LUB, the testing procedure often takes 45 days and the testing fee of '25,000 per batch is "quite hefty".
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It also sought exemption from testing for exporters of other syrups, suspensions, dry syrups, tablets, injections and infusions as there had been no critical complaints in the past two years.
In May 2023, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade notified that for exports, cough syrup manufacturers must produce a certificate of analysis from a government-approved laboratory.
This followed incidents where India-made cough syrups imported into Gambia were allegedly found to be contaminated with
diethylene glycol
and ethylene glycol, resulting in an acute kidney injury cluster among children.
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