A Parliamentary Standing Committee has reported that pharmaceutical companies have yet to pay more than Rs 8,500 crore to the government in dues related to alleged overcharging for medicines. The Committee stated that most of this amount is tied up in long-running court cases and urged the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority to strengthen its legal machinery and accelerate the resolution of these cases. According to the committee's 33rd report on the NPPA, the government had raised demands totaling Rs 10,013.30 crore for overcharging as of September 30, 2025. Of this, Rs 8,526.10 crore, or about 85%, remained unrecovered.

The biggest roadblock is litigation. Around Rs 5,944 crore of the outstanding amount is involved in cases before the High Courts and Supreme Court. Of 345 pending cases, 280 have reportedly remained unresolved for six years or longer, with some extending beyond…