In Brief
Glaxo Smithkline challenged a government demand for Rs. 2.04 crores for allegedly charging uncontrolled prices for a bulk drug (Betamethasone Disodium Phosphate) after its price-control exemption expired on 31 December 1994. The Court held that an exemption notification under the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 1987, concerns the date of manufacture, not sale. All goods manufactured during the exemption period retain uncontrolled pricing regardless of when sold. The Court allowed the appeal, setting aside the High Court judgment that had upheld the government's recovery demand, relying on the plain language of the exemption notification and prior precedent in Union of India v. Ranbaxy Laboratories."
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