Supreme Court Upholds NPPA's Demand on Sun Pharma for Overcharging

The Supreme Court has dismissed pharmaceutical giant Sun Pharma's appeal against a Rs 4.65 crore demand notice from the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA). The notice was issued to recover overcharged amounts for the anti-bacterial drug Roscilox.

Sun Pharma's challenge dated back to 2005, questioning NPPA's requirement to deposit Rs 2.15 crore from April 1996 to July 2003, along with an additional Rs 2.49 crore in interest under the Drugs (Price Control) Order, 1995 (DPCO). The company has already paid Rs 1.25 crore towards this demand.

A bench comprising Justices Sanjay Kumar and Augustine George Masih upheld the Delhi High Court's 2014 decision, noting Sun Pharma's inconsistent claims and dual roles as distributor and dealer justified the recovery. The bench stated that Sun Pharma had direct contact with the manufacturer and could not simply deny its obligations under Paragraph 13 of the DPCO.

(With inputs from agencies.)