Summary
The price-control exemption applied to covered drugs manufactured through 31 December 1994 even if sold later. The Court applied Ranbaxy, distinguishing an exemption notification tied to manufacture from a price-fixation notification tied to sale. The High Court’s judgment sustaining the contrary demand was set aside.
Issues
- Whether sale after expiry removed exemption from drugs manufactured during the exemption period.
Provisions considered
- Paragraph 28 and exemption notification of 28 February 1992, Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 1987The wording tied the particular exemption to manufacture during the stated period, rather than requiring sale within it. (¶¶ 1–2, 8–14)
Held
- The exemption and its guidelines concerned manufacture. The requirement to seek price fixation after expiry applied to subsequently manufactured goods and did not retrospectively alter covered stock’s exemption. (¶ 8–11)
- Ranbaxy directly governed the same manufacture-versus-sale issue. The later Glaxosmithkline decision concerned price fixation and expressly distinguished exemption; it did not displace Ranbaxy here. (¶ 11–13)
- Paragraph 16(3)’s implementation period for notified prices did not defeat the specific exemption for goods manufactured before its cut-off. (¶ 13–14)
Result
Appeal allowed; High Court judgment set aside, accepting the manufacture-date construction of the exemption.