July 20: Even though the government has made it mandatory for labeling imported goods with clear details of the importer and distributor since July 17, the importers complain that the authorities are indifferent towards solving the unreasonable difficulties caused by this new provision. Import of medicine has been stopped for three days due to conflicting legal arrangements of government agencies.

According to Prakash Khandelwal, senior vice president of Nepal Drug Practitioners Association, the importers have stopped the importing drugs after the Department of Customs instructed them to label only the label, but the Drug Administration Department said that no details can be mentioned on the packaging of the drugs without approval.

As a result, the importers has not yet received the medicines that have arrived at the border. Senior Vice President Khandelwal also warned that if the problem is not resolved soon, there may be shortage of medicines. Even now, about 50 percent of medicine supplies depend on imports, say businessmen.

“The customs clearance of drugs has not been possible since July 17. The customs officials cite one rule while the DDA says no content can be added to the packaging. In such a situation, there is no option but to stop the import,'' said Khandelwal, who is also a medicine importer.

Chief Customs Administrator of Birganj Customs, Dilaram Panthi, admitted that the businessmen were confused due to the contradictions in the rules between the government agencies.

“There is no need to put a label when passing the customs inspection. The label should be kept at the time of distribution. There is no obstacle in clearing the customs check. The businessmen must have been talking about the difficulties caused by the rules of the drug administration department,” said Customs Administrator Panthi.

The government, through the Finance Bill 2080, has made arrangement for labeling the imported goods before sending them to the market.

The labels should include the details of the importer and the distributor. The Department of Customs has said that if goods are found to be sold without labels, such goods will be confiscated. The department had sent information about this to the importers last month. 

The importers complain that the government implemented this system in a very short time.

“We had informed all agencies concerned about the problems that may arise in the import of medicines due to this system. Instead of a solution, they issued us a warning that they would confiscate the medicines. How can medicines be imported in such a situation?” questioned Khandelwal.

The government claims that the labeling system will be effective in controlling the import of low-quality goods and preventing illegal imports. However, Hari Gautam, senior vice president of Birgunj Chamber of Commerce and Industry, says that this arrangement could be just another pretext of collecting unauthorized money by extorting the businessmen.