ICMR Says No Payment Made For Chinese Test Kits Supplies

Alleged profiteering by distributors supplying the kits

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India does not stand to lose a single rupee, said the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Monday in response to a clarification sought on the alleged profiteering by distributors, exposed through a legal dispute between an importer and a distributor, in the delivery of rapid antibody testing kits to it.

According to details provided in the Delhi High Court, the kits procured from China, whose delivered cost was ₹245 a test, were sold to ICMR for ₹600 a test — a mark up of 145%.

The matter came to light when Rare Metabolics Life Sciences Pvt Ltd and Aark Pharmaceuticals, distributors of Chinese Wondfo Biotech’s kits imported by Matrix Labs, approached the High Court recently to get delivery/payment disputes cleared. The Council, in a one-page clarification, noted that it had not made any payment whatsoever in respect of the supplies — “because of the due process followed (not going in for procurement with 100% advance amount)”.