Coronavirus: Mask, sanitizer categorized as essential goods

Hand sanitizers and masks will be treated as essential commodities till 30 June, according to a government notification on Friday.

Under the Essential Commodities Act, states can ask manufacturers to enhance their production capacity of these items, to make the supply chain smooth, while under the Legal Metrology Act, which is also in force, the states can ensure sale of both at maximum retail price (MRP).

 

The states may now notify the Central order in their official gazette and also issue their own orders under the Essential Commodities Act to that effect and take necessary actions as per the situation prevailing in the respective states, the ministry said.

The move comes as panic buying by people resulted in stocks of masks and sanitizers disappearing from the markets. They are being sold at exorbitant prices in areas where the supplies exist.