DPCO 2013 Explained — Drug Price Control Order for Pharmacy Owners
The Drug Price Control Order (DPCO) 2013 is India's framework for regulating the prices of essential medicines. As a pharmacy owner, understanding DPCO is critical — not just for legal compliance, but for pricing, purchase decisions, and customer disputes.
What is DPCO 2013?
DPCO 2013 was issued under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955. It replaced the earlier DPCO 1995 and brought a significantly larger number of medicines under price control. The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) administers DPCO and sets ceiling prices for scheduled formulations.
Which Medicines are Price-Controlled?
DPCO 2013 controls prices of formulations listed in the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM). The current NLEM includes over 350 medicines across all major therapeutic categories. NPPA regularly revises the list and updates ceiling prices.
| Category | Examples Under Price Control |
|---|---|
| Antibiotics | Amoxicillin, Ampicillin, Ciprofloxacin, Azithromycin |
| Cardiovascular | Atenolol, Amlodipine, Enalapril, Metoprolol |
| Diabetes | Metformin, Glibenclamide, Human Insulin |
| Pain / Fever | Paracetamol, Ibuprofen, Diclofenac, Aspirin |
| Respiratory | Salbutamol, Theophylline, Beclomethasone |
| Gastrointestinal | Omeprazole, Ranitidine, Metronidazole |
How Ceiling Prices Work
NPPA calculates ceiling prices using a market-based formula: the simple average of all brands with more than 1% market share for that formulation. The ceiling price is the maximum MRP that any manufacturer can print on the pack.
For pharmacies: You cannot charge more than the printed MRP on any medicine — this applies to DPCO and non-DPCO medicines alike. For DPCO medicines, the printed MRP itself cannot exceed the NPPA ceiling price.
DPCO and Non-Scheduled Medicines
Medicines NOT on the NLEM list are "non-scheduled" formulations. For these, DPCO allows manufacturers to increase MRP by a maximum of 10% per year. These medicines can have higher margins for pharmacies since the manufacturer has more pricing flexibility.
What Pharmacies Must Do
- Never charge above MRP — this applies to all medicines, whether DPCO-controlled or not
- Display price list — pharmacies are required to display the price list of essential medicines
- Issue itemised bill — all sales should have itemised bills showing MRP and amount charged
- Report overcharging — if a distributor is supplying at above-ceiling PTR, report to NPPA
Penalty: Overcharging on DPCO medicines is an offence under the Essential Commodities Act. Penalties include fines up to the value of the overcharged amount, and in serious cases, licence cancellation.
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