GST effect: Discount slashed by five per cent at Amma Medicals

Amma Medicals was an ambitious project of late Chief Minister, J Jayalalithaa, that was launched with the purpose of selling quality drugs at lower prices. Implemented in 2014, for the last three years, the medicines were sold at a discount of 15 per cent.

However, the GST implementation has affected Amma Medicals too, as the outlets have reduced the existing discount rate from 15 to 10 per cent. Although under GST, the medicines were placed at various slabs, from zero to 18 per cent,  the essential drugs, under National List of Essential Medicines(NLEM), has come under the 12 per cent slab and it has reflected in the sales of medicines at Amma Medicals.

However, the sales persons have no idea about the tax rate. One of the sales persons at a Amma Medical shop in Madurai, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that they had no idea about the newly implemented tax structure under GST. According to him, they had slashed the discount rate from 15 to 10 per cent based on the instructions from higher officials, who reportedly said that the five per cent cut in the discount was temporary and may be revised later.

Another sales person in another Amma Medicals outlet said that they were yet to migrate to the new system and it would be done once the new batch of medicines arrive at the end of the week. When an official from the Co-operative Department was contacted, he said  that they had received instructions from the government and had passed them to the sales persons at  Amma Medicals.