New drug investments return to Gujarat as tax sops fade after GST

GST regime allocates budgetary support for existing industrial units in hill states till 2027 but greenfield units will not benefit

The goods and services tax regime has made Gujarat Food and Drug Control Administration (FDCA) Commissioner Hemant Koshia a busy man. He and his office are handling 30-40 applications for setting up greenfield pharmaceutical plants and brownfield expansions per week.

Before the indirect tax regime was rolled out, his office was handling around 10-12 such applications per week.

The FDCA grants licences to manufacturing units and all new investment proposals in the state are routed through them.

Koshia said around 121 fresh investment proposals were received between June 2017 and February 2018. Apart from these, another 200 proposals for brownfield