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 The Bangalore District Druggists and Chemists Association (BDCDA) is proactively encouraging and assisting the retailers to migrate from the composition scheme to the regular GST framework so that they can avail Input Tax Credit (ITC) benefits and fully integrate into the country’s requirement.
“We have taken up the responsibility to uplift the unorganised sector and are preparing a comprehensive blueprint to provide every unorganized retailer with a sophisticated billing software, laptop, printer, and 24x7 surveillance CCTV system at a subsidised cost, as a gesture of solidarity and service to the pharmacy trade fraternity. This initiative aims to transform the unorganised retailers into an organised, digitally empowered community, said B Thirunavukkarasu, president, BDCDA.
At the recently concluded Bengaluru Zone and the Southern Zonal Unit, Chennai, SAMVAD webinar on ease of doing business, Thirunavukkarasu pointed out that this digital era led by artificial intelligence (AI) and business intelligence (BI) demands smarter systems, transparent operations, and real-time accountability. Here, BDCDA stands committed to guiding the retail fraternity into this transformative future.
In this regard, BDCDA has submitted an appeal to JS Shinde, president, AIOCD, recommending urgent measures to safeguard retailers, especially those under the composition scheme who pay 1% tax on sales but cannot reduce MRPs as they neither collect tax nor avail Input Tax Credit. We reiterate that the entire pharmacy trade stands committed to the successful rollout of GST 2.0 reforms, and we foresee a full-fledged implementation from 01.04.2026, he added.
The Association now requests the Union government to protect retail pharmacists from unnecessary regulatory harassment during this transition period and to extend every possible support for smooth compliance.
There is a need to collaborate with a responsibility to adhere to the GST 2.0 reform and this will be successful only when government and industry walk together. Responsibility does not rest with government alone, trade associations, industry bodies, and professional councils must embrace this as both a social duty and a matter of national pride, said Thirunavukkarasu.
The SAMVAD webinar according to the BDCDA president was insightful and participative, enabling the pharma fraternity to present genuine ground-level challenges and constructive recommendations. Here, the Association also lauded the Union government’s efforts to reduce GST slabs from 18% to 5%, 12% to 5%, and making 33 categories of medicines tax-free, ensuring affordability of medicines.
Pharma sector operates under a structure completely different from other industries. Every stage from manufacturing to the end consumer functions under a licensing framework governed by central and state drug regulations. Drug prices are fixed by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) for scheduled formulations and monitored by Legal Metrology for packaging compliance, bound by statutory control. Hence re-printing or re-sticking revised MRPs within a short period is practically impossible, he said.
Currently, around 10% of the revised-MRP printed medicines have reached the market. The remaining stock is being phased out gradually through C&F network. There is visible initial working capital loss. Despite this financial strain, pharmacy trade makes every effort to maintain uninterrupted supply of essential and life-saving medicines, absorbing working-capital losses to protect consumers and patients, he said.
Around 60% of retail pharmacies are in the unorganised category and not equipped with computerised billing systems. Within this, about 40% fall under the Composition Scheme, paying 1% on total turnover. This reality must be acknowledged in the implementation of GST 2.0 to avoid undue hardship for a structured digital transition through support and guidance rather than punitive enforcement, said Thirunavukkarasu.
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