The Centre on Thursday said prices of alcohols used in manufacturing hand sanitizers have been capped under the Essential Commodities Act on account of coranavirus outbreak.
Due to COVID-19, prices of the alcohol used in manufacturing the hand sanitizers have been exorbitantly increased by the producers in the last couple of weeks.
It has also notified that the raw materials used in manufacture of essential commodities are also essential commodities under the E.C Act. States can now ask the manufactures of these alcohols not to increase the prices of their produce without concurrence of the Central Government.
“On these items, the States may now notify the Central order in their official Gazette, also issue their own orders under the EC Act to that effect and take necessary actions as per the situation prevailing in the respective States”, it said.
The decision would empower the Central Government and States/UTs to regulate prices, production, sale, distribution, transport, movement, storage, information etc. of alcohols used in manufacturing the hand sanitizer as preventive measure to avoid infection from COVID-19. It will smoothen the sale and availability of these items and carry out operations against hoarders, speculators, profiteers, blackmarketeers etc. and those involved in contravention of the orders of Central Government and States/UTs in respect of the above alcohols. This will help the manufacturers of hand sanitizers to keep prices of their and product at reasonable and within the reach of the common people.
The Central Government has requested the States/UTs to advise the manufacturers of deodorants to manufacturer alcohol based hand sanitizer spray with ethyl alcohol as main content on mass scale in the same plant which may manufacture this alcohol based sanitizer at very low cost and make it available in the market at the earliest.