Face masks and hand sanitizers cease to be essential commodities
On
13 March 2020, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs,
Food and Public Distribution notified masks (2 ply & 3 ply surgical masks,
N95 masks) & hand sanitizers as essential commodities under the Essential
Commodities Act, 1955 (Act) up to 30 June 2020.
Under
the Act, if the Central Government deems fit, it may, in the interest of
public, notify certain commodities as ‘essential’ in order to control the
production, supply and distribution of such commodities.
The
origins of this Act can be found in the Defence of India Act, 1939 (“DOI Act”)
and the Defence of India Rules, 1939 (“DOI Rules”). The DOI Act and the
DOI Rules conferred broad discretionary powers on the Government to regulate
and prohibit the production, distribution, consumption, movement and disposal
of goods notified by the Government and forbid the practice of controlling
prices by withholding of goods from the market. The DOI Act and DOI Rules
ceased to have force in 1946, but the need to have control over certain
commodities to meet inflation and shortages persisted. Therefore, the Essential
Supplies (Temporary Powers) Act, 1946 was enacted.[1] Post-independence, keeping
in mind the Constitutional principles and safeguards, the Act was enacted in 1955
and is the present legislation that regulates the market for “essential
commodities”.
The
term ‘essential commodities’ although not defined under the Act refers to the
commodities listed in the Schedule of the Act. Until 05 June, 2020 the schedule
had 9 commodities.
When
an item is enlisted in the Schedule of the Act, the Central Government has the
authority vested under Section 3 of the Act, to;
(i)
Regulate
its manufacture/ production by licenses and permits;
(ii)
Control
the price at which it is bought and sold;
(iii)
Prohibit
its withholding from sale;
(iv)
Direct
any person holding it in stock to sell whole/ part of the stock held;
(v)
Regulate
its storage, transport, use, consumption and disposal.
On
24 March 2020 the Ministry of Consumer Affairs
further issued a control order to regulate the prices of 2 ply and 3 ply masks till
30 June 2020.
Three
months into the pandemic, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, declared that, the 13
March 2020 and 24 March 2020 orders, notifying the masks and sanitizers as
essential commodities and regulating their prices, will not be extended beyond
30 June 2020. The reason cited by the Ministry was that, face masks and hand
sanitizers are no more essential products as their supply is sufficient in the
country and therefore must be kept out of the purview of the Act.