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Drug License

A Complete Guide to Start a Medical Store Business in India

calendar04 Jan, 2021
timeReading Time: 5 Minutes
Medical Store

The medical store business is playing a vital role in the Indian economy. It is very advantageous in nature as the medical store business profit margin is somewhat higher, and also, it doesn’t easily get by the rise and falls in business cycles.

The medical store business may not flourish as expected if proper research is not done in advance. With the pandemic effect of Covid-19, the demands for the more medical store at nearby places of people have been increased. The medical industry is rising rapidly over the years and will continue to rise so in the future.

Pillars of Medical Store Business in India

Pillars of Medical Store Business

Infrastructure and investment are the two main pillars of the medical store business in India. The essential factor to check out before opening a medical shop is the location to start a medical store business. If a suitable location is not chosen for the medical store, it will be more difficult for the business to continue in the wrong place.

Infrastructure

  • 10 square meters area is required in all other cases.
  • The height of the premises of the sale will be as per the guidelines provided under Drugs & Cosmetic Rules, 1945
  • In case you want to combine both retail and wholesale businesses under a single roof, in that case the minimum area will be required 15 sq. meters.
  • To store vaccines, Insulin injections, some liquid antibiotics and, other medicines at lower temperatures, a refrigerator is a must required appliance to be present always, and there should also be a sufficient number of cupboards to store different types of drugs and pharmaceuticals preparations.

Investment

  • The minimum investment needed to start retail, medical store in small towns and semi-urban areas is approx Rs. 3 to 4 lakhs.
  •  The minimum investment required to start a wholesale business is approx Rs. 7 to 8 lakhs.
  • The investment amount will be higher for large towns and metropolitan cities.
  • The investment amount will be higher if more inventories are kept at the medical store.

Types of Medical Store Business Entities Exist In India

Before starting a medical store business, an entrepreneur needs to decide the type of entity he wants. It can be a sole proprietorship firm, a partnership firm, or a private limited company.

Sole Proprietorship Firm

To start a sole proprietorship firm, there is no need of any business incorporation that needs to be done by the entrepreneur.

Partnership firm

A partnership firm may be incorporated with the Registrar of Firms using a Partnership Deed written among different partners. But the partnership firm doesn’t need to be incorporated. It should be registered only when the entrepreneur foresees some legal disputes among the business partners in the future.

Private Limited Company

A private limited company will always be incorporated with the Registrar of Companies to perform any business activities in India. The below mentioned can be the categories to incorporate the medical store business as Pvt. Ltd. Company

Mandatory Registration to Start Medical Store Business In India

The below discussed are the mandatory registration to start medical store business in India.

Eligibility Registrar of Firms Criteria to Get License for Medical Shop under Drugs & Cosmetic Rules, 1945

To open a medical shop for the entrepreneur, it’s mandatory to possess to get a drug license from the State Drug Control Department. The medical store license procedure is the same within the territory of India.  

  • The registered pharmacist that you engaged must be available full-time in the retail pharmacy store, and he must hold a degree to be a duly approved pharmacist by the state pharmacy council.
  • In case you have a wholesale pharmacy store, it’s not required to keep a registered pharmacist engaged in the said business.
  • While in the place of the pharmacist, a competent person, who he must be graduated with at least a  year of experience in dealing with the medicinal sector or the person, who duly passed his/her matriculation and holds the  4 years experience in dealing with medicines shall mandate to be recruited for the post
  •  The sale of drugs shall be duly performed under the registered pharmacist’s supervision and guidance or the competent person.
  • Once a pharmacist/competent person are engaged in one medical shop, he shall not be authorized to rest other jobs outside. Likewise, the registration certificate shall be only used for a single medical shop.
  • If the above said prerequisites are fulfilled properly, you will need to submit the duly filled-in application form and other relevant documents to the drugs control board.
  • In a few states, the application for a drug license is online submitted. Once the application is submitted, the drug control department will allot and issue the license after completing the authorized investigation.
  • Meanwhile, if the qualified staff gives resignation from his position  in the ongoing business, you will required  to fill  the duly filled-in application form again along with the original drug license and other important particulars so that the licensing authority can change the name in the drug license.

Goods & Service Tax Registration for Medical Shop

In India, It is important to register under GST when annual turnover exceeds the sum of the amount of INR 40 lakh or supply goods and services inter-state or through the e-commerce platform. There will not be any different turnover limits for different states, and the tax levied across different states in India will also be same among all the states.

Shop and Establishment Registration

In the below discussed conditions, the entrepreneur is required to get the incorporation under the Shop and Establishment Act.

  • To start the retail and wholesale shop;
  • Place where services rendered to the customer;
  • Go down;
  • Storeroom;
  • Warehouse;
  • Premises used for commercial purposes;
  • Hotel;
  • Restaurant;
  • Places for public entertainment like, Movie Theater, Amusement Park etc.

Points to Remember

  • Shop and Establishment Act is not applicable on the factories governed under the Factories Act, 1948[1]
  • The government may announce any establishment will be covered under Shop and Establishment Act by releasing a circular.

Particulars Needed to Get License to Start a Medical Store

The documents needed to get a license to start a medical store are almost the same in all over India’s states, but sometimes some states may ask to provide extra documents. The below mentioned are the documents needed to get a license to start a medical store business in India.

  • Covering letter that clearly specifies the purpose of the application with duly signed by the applicant.
  • Payments/challan
  • The layout plans of the medical store in which the entrepreneur is the idea/notion to commence his/her business.
  • In case of the rented property, he must submit the rent agreement on 50 Rs. Stamp paper, building tax receipt, and a declaration letter by the said building owner. 
  • The Experience and qualification certificates of the said competent person in the case of wholesale drug store or Registration certificate of the pharmacist must be submitted under the board of drugs.
  • The affidavit must be necessarily submitted by the competent person or the registered pharmacist, who willingly shall complete working for full time.
  • Relieving letter required by the pharmacist/competent person from their previous employment.
  • Joining letter of the competent person or the Regd. Pharmacist if he is not the proprietor of the pharmacy business.
  • Document related to the business, most probably a Partnership Deed or a Registration Certificate or a Sole Proprietorship declaration document.
  • Applicant’s Affidavit on the constitution, location of premises, tenancy, biomedical waste disposal, etc.
  • Purchase records (invoice) of the refrigerator.
  • Resident proof of the pharmacist or the competent person along with that of the applicant.
  • Photographs of the pharmacist or the competent person and that of the applicant.
  • Additional information documents if needs to be submitted.
  • In the case of renewal of the license, the original license must be submitted in addition to the application form and extra particulars if needed.

Concluding Remark

To establish a medical store in the public interest under Central and states’ supervision and authorization, we need to furnish the essentials and valid documents. The set rules and required documents by the said authority must be duly fulfilled and need to be furnished by the individual who agrees to possess or involved himself in the pharmaceutical world’s business.

It’s a Nobel and great work that always needs to be controlled and guided by the state and central bodies. Kindly associate with the Corpbiz experts in order to know more about the procedure to start your medical store business in India.

Read our article: What Are the Conditions Required To Obtain Drug License under Drugs & Cosmetic Act, 1940

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