As the government has put face masks and hand sanitizers under essential commodity, the Government has fixed the price for the hand sanitizer at Rs 100 for 20ml bottle whereas Prices for face masks have also been fixed at Rs 10 and Rs 8 for two types of masks.
“Keeping in view that surgical masks, N95 masks, and hand sanitizers are being available at the great difficulty or at exorbitant prices, the government has declared these items as essential commodities by amending the Schedule of the Essential Commodities Act 1955,” said a consumer affairs ministry official.
“The state governments can carry out operations against order speculators and those involved in black marketing and overpricing. Offenders may be punished with an imprisonment of 7 years or fine or both,” the official said.
He said that the state governments may hold discussions with manufacturers to enhance the production of these items on the basis of requirements.
Coronavirus: Looking for Hand Sanitizer? Amazon overprices Hand Sanitizers due to shortage
Over the past few weeks, there have been cases of non-availability of surgical masks and N95 masks due to increase in demand and black marketing. There have also been cases of traders charging exorbitantly for hand sanitizers.
