The Economic Coordination Committee approved a price increase for 20 drugs, including Paracetamol, on Friday.
The decision was made at an ECC meeting presided over by Federal Minister of Finance and Revenue Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar. The meeting was attended by Federal Minister for Commerce Syed Naveed Qamar, Federal Minister for Power Mr. Khurram Dastgir Khan, Minister of State for Finance and Revenue Dr. Aisha Ghous Pasha, Mr. Tariq Bajwa, SAPM on Revenue Mr. Tariq Mehmood Pasha, SAPM on Government Effectiveness Dr. Muhammad Jehanzeb Khan, Chairman SECP, Federal Secretaries, and other senior officers.
The ECC considered a summary of the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations, and Coordination and allowed the fixation of Maximum Retail Prices (MRPs) of 18 new drugs as recommended by Drug Pricing Committee (DPC). The prices of these 18 new drugs are at the lowest as compared to the prices of the same drugs in neighboring countries, especially in India.
“The ECC considered another summary of the ministry on the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) of Paracetamol products and approved the recommendation of the Drug Pricing Committee (DPC) for an increase in Maximum Retail Price (MRP) of Paracetamol products and a fixed price of Paracetamol Plain Tablet 500 mg at Rs2.67 and Paracetamol Extra Tablet 500 mg at Rs3.32,” read the press release.
The forum also approved the ministry’s recommendation of the Drug Pricing Committee (DPC) for a reduction in the Maximum Retail Prices (MRPs) of 20 drugs.
The Ministry of Energy (Power Division) also presented a summary of the refinancing of Power Holding Limited’s (PHL) debt and a surcharge to recover markup payments. “The ECC has approved the proposal to recover Rs76 billion while exempting non-ToU domestic consumers having consumption 300 units and private agriculture consumers in four months period from March 2023 to June 2023 to recover the markup charges of PHL loans and allowed to impose an additional surcharge of Rs. 1/unit for FY 2023-24 to recover additional markup charges of PHL loans not covered through the already applicable FC surcharge”.
The surcharges will also be applicable to K-Electric consumers to maintain uniform tariffs across the country. The ECC also deferred PHL’s principal installments payable in respect of Rs283.287 billion for a period of two years from the date of execution of fresh facilities and directed the Finance division to issue a Government Guarantee for repayment of principal as well as interest/fees, etc for the fresh facilities of Rs283.287 billion.
The ECC considered and approved the proposals contained in another summary of the Ministry of Energy (Power Division) regarding the recovery of staggered Fuel Charges Adjustment applicable for the months of August and September 2022.
The committee has deferred the electricity bills for the month of September 2022 for commercial consumers in the flood-affected areas till the next billing cycle and waived off electricity bills for the months of August and September 2022 for the non- ToU domestic consumers having 300 units of consumption.
The ECC also authorized a Rs10.34 billion supplementary grant to cover the remission of energy bills in flood-affected districts. The ECC also approved the Revised Circular Debt Management Plan after reviewing another brief from the Ministry of Energy.
Due to the lack of a Program Management Unit (PMU) at the Finance Division, it also considered and approved in principle a summary of the Finance Division on the Kamyab Pakistan Programme and entrusted the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to validate the claims of wholesale lenders (WLs) after due diligence.
The ECC also approved in principle a technical supplementary grant of Rs450 million in favor of the Ministry of Defence.
