India lifted the ban imposed on the export of Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) API as well as formulations on June 10, 2020. Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers Sadananda Gowda made the announcement through a tweet.
The Union Minister tweeted saying that the Department of Pharmaceuticals has approved the lifting of the ban on Export of Hydroxychloroquine API as well as formulations. Manufacturers except SEZ/EOU Units will have to supply 20 percent production in the domestic market. He also added that the Directorate General of Foreign Trade(DGFT) has been asked to issue a formal notification in this regard.
This post was followed by an official notification from the DGFT, which read that a notification has been issued to amend the Export Policy of Diagnostic Kits / Laboratory Reagents / Diagnostic Apparatus.
According to the DGFT notification, while the export policy of certain diagnostic instruments and apparatus was changed from being free to ‘restricted’, all other diagnostic kits/ instruments and apparatus falling under the HS codes are free to be exported subject to the submission of an undertaking to custom authorities, which states that the shipping kit does not contain any item that has been restricted from export.
The DGFT has restricted the export of following diagnostic instruments/ apparatus and reagents:
S.no | ITC HS Codes | Description |
| 207 H | Ex39269099 Ex701790 Ex84199090 Ex90189099 Ex3822 | 15ml falcon tube or cryovials |
| 207 I | Ex300590 Ex3822 | Swabs sterile synthetic fibre swabs (nylon, polyester, rayon or dacron) |
| 207 J | Ex90279090 Ex3822 | Silicon columns |
| 207 K | Ex38220090 Ex38220019 | Poly adenylic Acid or Carrier RNA |
| 207 L | Ex38220090 Ex38220019 | Proteinase K |
| 207 M | Ex9027 Ex3822 | Magnetic stand |
| 207 N | Ex38220090 Ex38220019 | Beads |
| 207 O | Ex38220090 Ex38220019 | Probes (specific for COVID-19 testing) |
| 207 P | Ex38220090 Ex38220019 | Primers (specific for COVID-19 testing) |
| 207 Q | Ex3507 Ex3822 | Taq Polymerase enzyme |
| 207 R | Ex3507 Ex3822 | Reverse transcriptase |
| 207 S | Ex2934 Ex3822 | Deoxy nucleotide triphosphates |
Background
The Indian government had banned the export of the drug and its formulations in April after India approved its use for possible prevention against the COVID-19 virus.
The ICMR’s National Task Force had recommended the drug’s use to treat high-risk coronavirus cases such as asymptomatic healthcare workers involved in the care of suspected or confirmed coronavirus cases and asymptomatic household contacts of confirmed cases.
The ‘Hydroxychloroquine’ drug was endorsed by US President Donald Trump as a potential cure for the novel coronavirus. The drug is administered to frontline workers in India as a precautionary measure.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has resumed its clinical trial of Hydroxychloroquine’ after temporarily dropping the drug from its global study into experimental treatments for COVID-19.
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