Policy Circular No. 1 dated 15^th April 1999

It has been brought to the notice of this office that all the shipments containing export of bulk drugs were necessarily being sent to Drug Controller officers stationed at customs houses for attestation etc. These attestations by Drug Controller officers were insisted by the Customs authorities in all shipments involving export of drugs. Because of this procedure, shipments at those ports, where Drug Controller Officers are not stationed, are getting invariably delayed.

It has, therefore, been decided that in such cases where a bulk drug is an approved drug i.e. it figures in the Indian Pharmacopoeia (IP), there is no need of any attestation by the Drug Controller Officers. All approved drugs may not find a mention in the Indian Pharmacopoeia. Therefore, as long as a drug was approved by the offices of Drug Controller General of India, irrespective of the fact whether it was mentioned in the Indian Pharmacopoeia or not, no attestation from Drug Controller Officers stationed at different ports should be insisted in future.