Govt notification capping sanitiser price protects people from black marketers

Consumers may now have the last laugh! All those retailers and middlemen who hoarded sanitizers of well-known brands to trade them at exorbitant prices will now have to sell them at a loss because the price fixed by the government —₹25 for 50ml—is much less than their maximum retail price (MRP) which ranges between ₹80-₹55 for a bottle of 50ml.

Similarly, manufacturers of unknown brands, many of them probably new, who thought they could exploit the situation and charge exorbitantly for their sanitisers will also have to sell at 30%-20% of their MRP. A manufacturer who was selling 100ml at ₹250, for example, will now have to mark down his price to ₹50. There is a hard lesson in this for all those avaricious traders and manufacturers—anti-consumer practices do not pay! This should also prevent consumers from panic buying.

On Saturday, March 21, the Union ministry of consumer affairs notified, under the Essential Commodities Act, the ‘Fixation of Prices of Masks (2 ply and 3 ply), melt blown non-woven fabric and hand sanitizers Order, 2020’ , putting a cap on the prices of these goods declared as Essential Commodities. As per the notification, the retail price of hand sanitisers shall not be more than ₹100 for a bottle of 200ml. “The prices of other quantities of hand sanitizers shall be fixed in proportion of these prices,” the notification said. This will be a very big relief for consumers.

The notification also put a cap on the price of surgical masks that it shall not be more than the price that existed on February 12, 2020, or ₹10 for a three-ply mask and ₹8 for a two-ply mask, whichever is lower, the notification said. The price caps will remain in force up to June 30, 2020.

On March 19, the ministry had asked all states and Union territories to ensure easy availability of ethyl alcohol to all manufacturers of hand sanitisers and also encourage them to operate in three shifts to meet the increased demand. Even more heartening was the reference, in the ministry’s communication, to the All India Distilleries Association’s offer to produce sanitisers in bulk. The ministry said states should give permission for such production on a priority basis.

In the United States, in response to the severe shortage of sanitisers and their steep price rise, a number of distilleries have now switched to manufacturing sanitisers and are distributing them free in the community. I do really hope that some of our distilleries would follow that example and ensure adequate supply of sanitisers.

Meanwhile, remember that all sanitisers—whether newly produced or from the old stock—will have to be sold at the government notified price, whatever the MRP on the bottle, because the notification on the price has come into immediate effect and there are no exceptions to the rule in the order.

Violations attract stringent penalty and one can complain to the local legal metrology department /consumer affairs department or the national consumer helpline on 1800-11-4000.

In fact, the government has only put a cap on the price, so one can sell it lower. Who knows, the hoarders may well be forced to do it! In the United States, an Amazon seller who hoarded 17,700 bottles of sanitisers and received severe censure for his behaviour finally gave them away for free, of course under threat of legal action for price gouging. In India, too, we must force those who have hoarded sanitisers for black marketing to distribute them free among the poor. This could be part of the punishment.