Madras high court has clarified that although no licence is required to import ayurvedic drugs into India, it is necessary that the imported products conform to the standards prescribed for similar products manufactured in India.
“For such a purpose, it is necessary that such consignments be tested by one of the laboratories accredited to the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO),” Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy said. This process shall be overseen by the State Licensing Authority, which is the licensing authority for the manufacture of ayurvedic drugs. All expenses related to such testing shall be borne by the importer, the court stated.
The court passed the order while disposing of a plea moved by Axeon Marketing India, the importer of ‘Axe Brand Medicated Oil’ from Singapore. They approached the court challenging the notices for alleged violation of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act. It argued that although the definition of “drug” read with the definition of ayurvedic, siddha, or unani drug indicates that the statute applies to ayurvedic drugs, the provisions related to the import of drugs are inapplicable to ayurvedic drugs.
The import policy provides that the import of ayurvedic drugs may be undertaken “free”, without a licence, the petitioner said. Opposing the contentions, the import commissionerate submitted that while the act and the rules deal with the manufacture of
ayurvedic drugs in India and prescribe licensing requirements in relation thereto, licensing requirements have not been specifically prescribed for ayurvedic drugs. In the absence thereof, the import of ayurvedic drugs is prohibited.