Stockists stare at shortage as pharma industry gears up for GST

Most companies are minimising the stocking at the distributor level before the roll-out of GST

The pharmaceutical industry expects supply shortages as it gears up for transition into the goods and services tax (GST) regime from July 1. Inventories lying with stockists at the end of May were lower than the levels the previous month, with most companies minimising stocks lying with distributors, ahead of GST implementation. 

According to the data from the market research wing of All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD), the AIOCD-AWACS, May saw a marginal reduction in Day 1 inventory being carried by distributors. For the overall Indian Pharmaceutical Market (IPM) there is a reduction of 1.3 days in