Kerala government brings new rule to check unauthorized sale of preparations in Ayurveda

In a significant move, the government of Kerala is gearing up to bring in a Rule to regulate the preparation and sale of Arishtams and Aasavams (spirituous preparations in Ayurveda) in order to help the public avail pure and unadulterated products for their medicinal needs.

As per the soon-to-be-introduced Rule, in future the retail sales of ‘aasava arishtams’ can be done only by qualified Ayurveda doctors and Ayurveda pharmacists. The government’s decision is coming in the wake of a demand made by the Ayurveda Medical Association of India (AMAI) who has been requesting the government to initiate stern steps to control the retail sales of arishtams and aasavams to forestall the unqualified vendors from selling these medicinal products locally and without the recommendation of qualified Ayurveda doctors.

As part of the new regulatory policy, the excise department had earlier raised the license fees under section 6 and 7 of the Spirituous Preparation (Control) Rules 1969 for stocking and selling of aasavams and arishtams by retailers and wholesalers. The license fee was raised from Rs.150 toRs.1000 for Ayurveda hospitals and from Rs.500 to Rs.5000 for allopathy hospitals. Whereas for the wholesale distribution, the license fee was raised from Rs.2000 to Rs.4000.

When the Rule comes in force, an Ayurveda doctor can keep arishtams and aasavams upto one hundred litres from the existing limit of five litres. AMAI had requested the government to raise the allowable quantity of arishtams to one hundred litres.

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