DPCO Full Form: What the Drugs (Prices) Control Order Actually Does (2026)

Last reviewed: July 2026 by Siddharth Singhal, Managing Director, Vibcare Pharma.

DPCO stands for the Drugs (Prices) Control Order. The operative version is the DPCO 2013, issued under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, and administered by the NPPA (National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority). It fixes ceiling prices for "scheduled formulations" — the medicines listed in Schedule I, which is drawn from the National List of Essential Medicines — and caps annual price increases on everything else at 10%.

DPCO at a glance

What is the full form of DPCO?

DPCO = Drugs (Prices) Control Order. Note the wording: it is an Order, not an Act. It is issued under the powers of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 — which is why it can be amended by notification rather than by Parliament, and why it changes more often than a statute would.

People often write "DPCO Act." Strictly there is no DPCO Act. There is the Essential Commodities Act, and the DPCO made under it.

DPCO Ceiling Price Search — all 915 scheduled formulations

Type a molecule name to get today’s notified ceiling price. This is the national list of scheduled formulations under DPCO 2013 — the medicines whose prices are capped by law. Ceiling prices are per unit and exclusive of GST.

Data as of 1 April 2026. Source: NPPA notifications S.O. 1575(E), 1581(E), 1582(E) and 1587(E), dated 25 March 2026 — the annual WPI revision of +0.64956%. Covers NLEM 2011, 2015 and 2022 formulations. Verify at nppa.gov.in before pricing.

Ceiling prices exclusive of GST. MRP must not exceed ceiling price + applicable GST. For pack sizes not listed, seek specific price approval from NPPA. Excludes company-specific price fixations, which bind only the named manufacturer and are not national ceilings. Indicative only — verify against the current NPPA notification before pricing.

Got your ceiling? Now see what it leaves you: PTR & PTS calculator →

What DPCO actually does

1. It fixes ceiling prices on essential medicines

Medicines listed in Schedule I of DPCO 2013 — the scheduled formulations, drawn from the National List of Essential Medicines — get a ceiling price fixed by the NPPA and notified in the Gazette. No company may sell above it. This covers a large share of commonly prescribed molecules: many antibiotics, cardiac and diabetic drugs, analgesics and more.

2. It caps increases on everything else

For non-scheduled formulations there is no ceiling — but you may not raise the MRP by more than 10% in any twelve-month period. That single rule shapes pricing strategy across the whole industry.

3. It sets the retailer margin on scheduled drugs

DPCO 2013 provides a retailer margin of 16% on scheduled formulations, calculated on the price to retailer. This is the part that matters most to anyone in distribution, because it means your margin on those products is set by the Order, not by negotiation.

4. It revises prices annually

Ceiling prices on scheduled formulations are revised each year in line with the Wholesale Price Index. That revision is notified — it is not automatic in your rate list, and it is your job to track it.

How the ceiling price is calculated

The DPCO 2013 formula is market-based rather than cost-based, which was the big change from DPCO 1995.

The ceiling price is the simple average of the MRPs of all brands of that formulation holding at least 1% market share, plus a notified retailer margin. Simple average — not weighted by sales. A small brand with 1% share pulls the average exactly as hard as the market leader.

That design has a consequence worth understanding: it does not price to cost. It prices to the middle of the existing market.

Why DPCO matters if you are in PCD or distribution

Three practical consequences:

• On scheduled products, your margin is fixed by law. 16% retailer margin on scheduled formulations is not a commercial term you can negotiate with a company. Anyone offering you a better margin on a scheduled drug is describing something that should not exist.
• Range selection changes your economics. A range weighted toward scheduled formulations behaves differently from one weighted toward non-scheduled. Neither is wrong — but you should know which you are buying before you sign.
• Overcharging is recoverable with interest. The NPPA can demand the overcharged amount plus interest, from whoever sold above the ceiling. Ignorance of a revised notification is not a defence.

If you want to work out what a given rate actually leaves you, use our PTR & PTS calculator — it does the arithmetic that this Order makes unavoidable.

DPCO 2013 vs DPCO 1995 — what changed

• Basis: DPCO 1995 controlled prices on a cost-based formula for a list of bulk drugs. DPCO 2013 moved to a market-based ceiling — the simple average described above.
• Scope: DPCO 1995 covered bulk drugs and their formulations. DPCO 2013 covers formulations listed in Schedule I, drawn from the NLEM.
• Effect: the span of controlled medicines widened, and the method of arriving at the number changed entirely.

The latest DPCO revision (effective 1 April 2026)

The most recent annual revision was notified through Gazette orders S.O. 1575(E), S.O. 1581(E) and S.O. 1589(E), dated 25 March 2026, and took effect from 1 April 2026.

• WPI adjustment applied: +0.64956% (calendar 2025 over 2024)
• Scheduled formulations covered: 907
• Effective from: 1 April 2026

For scale, the previous revisions applied +1.74028% (2024 over 2023) and +0.00551% the year before that. The WPI number changes every year and the ceiling moves with it — which is exactly why a price list published on any website has a shelf life measured in months.

Two rules people get wrong on this:

• Notified ceiling prices are exclusive of GST. You may add GST on top only if it is actually paid to the Government. MRP must not exceed ceiling price + applicable GST.
• If your pack size is not in the notification, you cannot interpolate it. A specific price approval has to be sought from NPPA for that pack.

Also current: the Drugs (Prices Control) Amendment Order, 2026, under which NPPA has issued clarifications on filing Form IA for "new drugs". If you are launching a formulation that qualifies as a new drug under the Order, that filing applies to you.

How to check the ceiling price of a specific medicine

Do this yourself rather than trusting any list, including this page. It takes two minutes.

1. Go to the NPPA's own site — nppa.gov.in. Note the domain: NPPA moved from the old nppaindia.nic.in address, and plenty of blogs still link to the dead one.
2. Open the ceiling price notifications section. Revisions are published as Gazette S.O. notifications with a date — the annual WPI revision is normally notified in late March and applies from 1 April.
3. Find your formulation by composition and strength — not by brand name. Ceiling prices attach to the formulation, not to anybody's brand.
4. Check the unit. Notifications state price per tablet, per capsule, per ml or per vial. Comparing a per-tablet ceiling to a per-strip MRP is the most common arithmetic error in this whole exercise.
5. Add GST only if applicable, then compare to the MRP on the pack.

For a quick consumer-level check, NPPA also runs the Pharma Sahi Daam service, which lets you look up the price of a medicine by name.

A worked example of the check

Say the notification fixes a ceiling of ₹8.93 per tablet, inclusive of GST, for a Calcium + Vitamin D3 tablet. A strip of 15 tablets may therefore carry an MRP of up to ₹133.95. If a pack in the market shows ₹150, that is above ceiling — and the overcharged amount is recoverable from whoever sold it, with interest.

That is the whole compliance test: ceiling per unit × units in pack, plus GST if applicable, versus the MRP printed on the box.

Where to check the current numbers — the only sources that count

• NPPA (nppa.gov.in) — ceiling price notifications, revision orders, and clarifications. This is the primary source.
• The Gazette of India — where the S.O. notifications are formally published.
• Pharma Sahi Daam — NPPA's own price lookup for consumers.

Do not rely on any blog's price list, including an old one of ours. If a page publishes a "latest" DPCO price list dated several years ago, that is a historical record, not a working document. Ceiling prices change by notification, and the notification is the only thing that is true.

One last time, because it is the only thing on this page that can cost you money: Do not rely on any blog's price list, including an old one of ours. The only current source is the NPPA's own notifications and the Gazette. If a page publishes a "latest" DPCO price list with a date on it from several years ago, that is a historical record, not a working document.

New to this side of the business? Read what PCD pharma actually is, or our list of PCD pharma companies in India with the 12 factors that decide which to sign with.

Frequently asked questions

What is the full form of DPCO?

DPCO stands for the Drugs (Prices) Control Order. The current version is DPCO 2013, issued under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, and administered by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority. It is an Order made under an Act, not an Act itself — which is why there is strictly no "DPCO Act."

What is the DPCO Act?

There is no DPCO Act. The Drugs (Prices) Control Order is issued under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955. Because it is an Order rather than a statute, it can be amended by notification rather than through Parliament, which is why ceiling prices change frequently.

What are scheduled and non-scheduled formulations?

Scheduled formulations are the medicines listed in Schedule I of DPCO 2013, drawn from the National List of Essential Medicines. They carry a ceiling price fixed by the NPPA. Non-scheduled formulations have no ceiling, but their MRP may not be raised more than 10% in any twelve-month period.

How is the DPCO ceiling price calculated?

Under DPCO 2013 it is the simple average of the MRPs of all brands of that formulation holding at least 1% market share, plus the notified retailer margin. It is a simple average, not weighted by sales, so a 1% brand influences it as much as the market leader. DPCO 1995 used a cost-based formula instead.

What is the retailer margin under DPCO?

DPCO 2013 provides a 16% retailer margin on scheduled formulations, calculated on the price to retailer. On scheduled products this is set by the Order rather than negotiated, so any company offering a materially better margin on a scheduled drug is describing something that should not exist.

Who fixes drug prices in India?

The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) fixes and revises ceiling prices for scheduled formulations under DPCO 2013, notifying them in the Gazette. Ceiling prices are revised annually in line with the Wholesale Price Index. Companies set their own MRPs for non-scheduled formulations, subject to the 10% annual cap.

What happens if a company sells above the DPCO ceiling price?

The NPPA can recover the overcharged amount along with interest from whoever sold above the ceiling. Not knowing about a revised notification is not a defence, which is why tracking NPPA notifications rather than relying on old published price lists matters.