Required to manufacture, sell, stock or distribute drugs, including retail pharmacies and online sellers. A qualified pharmacist or competent person is a precondition, not a formality.
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TIMELINE
ISSUED BY
LICENCE TYPES
PRECONDITION
Retail, wholesale and manufacturing are separate licences with different premises, personnel and equipment requirements. Some businesses need more than one.
Minimum premises area, cold storage where required, and a registered pharmacist for retail or a competent person for wholesale must be in place before applying.
The application is filed with the State Drug Control Authority with premises, personnel and equipment documentation.
A drug inspector inspects the premises and verifies personnel and storage. The licence is granted on satisfactory inspection.
A retail drug licence requires a registered pharmacist physically present at the premises during business hours, and wholesale requires a competent person with prescribed qualification or experience. Arrangements where a pharmacist lends their registration without actually working there are common, and they are exactly what inspections target. Consequences run to cancellation of the licence and prosecution under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, for both the licensee and the pharmacist. Recruit properly before applying, because the licence is granted on the basis that the person is genuinely engaged.
A retail drug licence, obtained in the name of the premises with a registered pharmacist engaged there.
Online sale of medicines requires the underlying drug licences and is subject to additional conditions and evolving regulation. It is not a substitute for premises based licensing.
Yes. Prescribed minimum floor area applies and varies by licence type, with additional requirements where both retail and wholesale are carried on.
Yes. The licence attaches to the premises, so each location requires its own.
Those fall under separate categories with their own licensing requirements under the same Act and allied rules.
Tell us your premises and pharmacist status and we will confirm what is needed.
