Mumbai: The State Health Ministry proposed to regulate the prices of masks. Health Minister Rajesh Tope said a four-member expert committee’s suggestion to implement caps on the price of masks to curb “profiteering” will be implemented by Thursday. The new prices will be implemented after the Chief Minister’s signature.
On July 31, an expert committee was formed headed by state health insurance CEO Dr Sudhakar Shinde to study manufacturing cost and advice ceiling prices for masks. The panel conducted detailed studies on two major mask manufacturers — Venus Health and Safety Pvt Ltd and Magnum Health and Safety Pvt Ltd — and went through books along with the Public Health department, GST officials and Central Excise department. They studied the cost and works of the company and accordingly submitted the report.
In its 28-page report submitted to Tope on Tuesday, the panel highlighted violations in sale and manufacture of face masks during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. The sale of masks in such a manner has violated the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, Legal Metrology Act, 2009, and Prevention of Black Marketing and the Maintenance of Supplies of Essential Commodities Act, 1980.
According to Health Minister Rajesh Tope, “We wanted the prices to be fixed based on manufacturing cost. The committee has calculated a net profit of 45 per cent over production cost to provide adequate profit in the supply chain to supplier, distributor and retailer. The new prices will be implemented after the Chief Minister’s signature tonight”. “Patients and hospitals will be benefited by this decision. Infct hospitals can purchase masks at a 30 % lower rate than the market price”, added Tope.
The report suggested putting a price cap on N-95 masks between Rs 19 and Rs 45, depending on the categories, to bring down their rates to one-tenth the current market price. On two-ply masks, it is supposed to be at Rs 3 and three-ply masks at Rs 4. A doctor’s kit, the panel’s report said, should be capped at Rs 127 and a filtering facepiece (FFP) mask at Rs 12. Currently, the rate of a three-ply melt-blown mask is anywhere between Rs 20 and Rs 40 in the market, and an FFP mask around Rs 200-600.
Earlier, In March, the Centre notified an order under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, to declare two-ply and three-ply surgical masks, N95 masks and hand sanitisers as essential commodities till June 30. The expert committee found that Magnum had raised the prices of N-95 v-shaped masks by 335%, from Rs 40 to Rs 175 during this period. It increased the cost of a three-ply mask by 60% from Rs 6 to Rs 10. In case of Venus for N95 it charged Rs 150 in March which was Rs 43.5 prior a rise by 295%. For instance, the cost of a valved mask was increased from Rs 60.8 before pandemic to Rs 250 in May.