The Bangalore District Druggists and Chemists Association (BDCDA) is motivating and supporting the retailers to migrate from the composition scheme to the regular GST framework so that they can take GST Input Tax Credit (ITC) advantages and comprehensively integrate into the country’s requirements.
We uplift the unorganised sector and are preparing a blueprint to deliver every unorganised retailer with a sophisticated billing software, laptop, printer, and 24×7 surveillance CCTV system at a subsidised cost, as a gesture of solidarity and service to the pharmacy trade fraternity.
The motive of the initiative is to transform the unorganised retailers into an organised, digitally empowered community, said B. Thirunavukkarasu, president, BDCDA.
At the recent SAMVAD webinar focused on the ease of doing business, held by the Bengaluru Zone and the Southern Zonal Unit in Chennai, Thirunavukkarasu emphasised that the digital age, driven by artificial intelligence (AI) and business intelligence (BI), requires smarter systems, transparent operations, and real-time accountability. The BDCDA is dedicated to guiding the retail community into this transformative future.
BDCDA, concerning the same, has filed a plea to JS Shinde, president, AIOCD, suggesting the urgent actions to secure the retailers, particularly those under the composition scheme who file 1% on sales, however, could decrease MRPs since they neither collect tax nor avail Input Tax Credit. The whole pharmacy trade stands devoted to the successful introduction of GST 2.0 reforms, and we expect a full-fledged execution from 01.04.2026.
From unnecessary regulatory harassment, the association requests the Union government to safeguard retail pharmacists in this transition period and to furnish support for easier compliance.
Collaboration with a responsibility to adhere to the GST 2.0 reform is a must, and the same shall be successful when the government and industry walk together. Only the government is not obligated, but trade associations, industry bodies, and professional councils need to adopt this as both a social duty and a case of national pride, Thirunavukkarasu expressed.
According to the BDCDA president SAMVAD webinar was insightful and participative, which permits the pharma community to present genuine ground-level issues and constructive suggestions. Here, the association has admired the efforts of the Union government to lessen the GST slabs from 18% to 5%, 12% to 5%, and make 33 categories of medicines tax-free, ensuring the affordability of medicines.
Under a structured pharma sector, it functions distinctly from other industries. Every phase, from manufacturing to the end consumer operations under a licensing structure controlled by central and state drug regulations.
The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has set the cost of drugs for scheduled formulations and tracked them via Legal Metrology for packaging compliance, bound by statutory control. Therefore, re-printing or re-sticking revised MRPs within a lesser period is not feasible, he specified.
At present, nearly 10% of the revised MRP printed medicines have reached the market. The other stock is being phased out via the C&F network. The loss of initial working capital is normal. Even after this financial stress, the pharmacy trade put effort into maintaining an uninterrupted supply of essential and life-saving medicines that absorb these working capital losses to safeguard consumers and patients.
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Thirunavukkarasu said that nearly 60% of retail pharmacies come within the unorganised category and do not have computerised billing systems. In this, nearly 40% drop under the Composition Scheme, paying 1% on total turnover.
The same reality should be comprehended in the execution of the GST 2.0 to prevent the undue hardship for a structured digital transition via assistance instead of punitive enforcement.
