Medical devices such as stents, heart valves and orthopedic implants will soon have to declare the maximum retail price (MRP) and consumers will no longer have to remain obscure about their exact costs.
The Ministry of Consumer Affairs presented this draft recommendation on the recommendation of the Pharmaceuticals Department. According to sources from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, all medical devices were covered by the Commodity Rules (legal metrology). But in 1995, some of them were declared as drugs and so they stopped mentioning MRP.
"A subcommittee to propose changes to the rules recommended bringing them back under the MRP regime. All the elements covered by these rules should mention the place of origin and assembly," said one official.
He added that the non-application of MRP led to a crisis where consumers were billed arbitrarily by hospitals for medical devices. Changes to the rules will also make it mandatory for all packaged items sold online or through e-commerce sites to mention MRP to end any ambiguity if online businesses are actually giving away the huge discounts they claim in their advertisement. The changes will be notified by this month end.
Moreover, every packaged product for human consumption will have to mention the date specifying "best before" (date of minimum durability) or "use by" (expiry date) for consumer information.
