|
PHARMACY ACT 1967
(XI OF 1967)
(As Amended Upto 8th February 1973).
An act to establish Pharmacy Councils to regulate the practice of
Pharmacy.
WHEREAS
it is expedient to establish Pharmacy Councils to regulate the practice
of pharmacy and to provide to matters connected therewith and incidental
thereto;
AND WHEREAS
the national interest of Pakistan in relation to the achievement of uniformity within
the meaning of clause (2) of Article 131 of the Constitution requires
Central legislation in the matter;
It is
hereby enacted as follows:
1. Short
title, extent and commencement.
(1) This Act may be called the Pharmacy Act, 1967.
(2) It extends to the whole of Pakistan.
(3) It shall come into force at once.
2. Definitions.
In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant
in the subject or context,
(a) `approved' means approved
under section 18 or, as the case may be, section 19;
(b) `Central
Council' means the Pharmacy Council of Pakistan established
under section 3;
(c) `Council'
means a Pharmacy Council established under section 3;
(d) `Medical
Institution' means an institution whose medical qualifications
are recognized under the Medical Council Ordinance, 1962 (XXXII
of 1962);
(e) `Pakistan Pharmacists
Association' means
the association registered under the Societies Registration Act
1860 (XXI of 1860) and known at the commencement of the Pharmacy
(Amendment) Act, 1973 by that name;
(f) `Pharmacist'
means a person who is registered under section 24 in register A
and Register B.
(g) `Pharmacy Institution' means an institution
whose qualifications of Pharmacy are recognized under this Act;
and
(h) `Provincial
Council' means the Pharmacy Council of a Province established
under section 3.
3. Establishment
of Pharmacy Councils. Within a period of one year from the commencement
of this Act:
(a) The Central Government shall, by notification
in the official Gazette, establish a Central Pharmacy Council to
be known by the name of the Pharmacy Council of Pakistan; and
(b) Each provincial Government shall in like manner,
establish a provincial Pharmacy Council to be known by the name
of the province concerned.
(2) Each of the Pharmacy Councils established under sub section
(1) shall be a body corporate having perpetual succession and common
seal, with power, among others, to acquire, hold and dispose off
property, and shall by its name sue and be sued.
4. Composition
of Central Council. (1)
The Central Council shall, subject to the provisions of sub section
(2), consist of the following members, namely:
(a) The Director
General of Health, Government of Pakistan, ex-officio, who shall,
unless the Central Government appoints any other officer to be the
President, also be the President of the
Council;
(b) The officer,
if any, appointed under clause (a) to be the President of the Council;
(c) Eight
persons to be nominated by the Federal Government out of whom one
from each province shall be nominated in consultation with the provincial
Government concerned, one shall be a teacher of Pharmaceutics and
one a teacher of Pharmaceutical Chemistry;
(d) One person
from each province, to be nominated by the Federal Government so
far as may be in consultation with the provincial Council concerned;
(e) One person,
to be nominated by the Federal Government in consultation with the
Pakistan Pharmacists Association; and
(f) The Drugs Controller, Government of Pakistan; and
(2) The Central Government may by notification in
the official Gazette, increase or decrease the number of persons
to be nominated by it under clause (c) of sub section (1).
Provided that the decrease in the number of members shall not affect
the continuance in office of, and the performance of functions by,
any member until the expiry of his term.
5. Composition
of the Provincial Council. (1)
A Provincial Council shall, subject to the provisions of sub section
(2), consist of the following members namely:
(a) the Secretaries to the Provincial Governments
in the Health Department, exofficio, who shall, unless the Provincial Government appoints
any other officer to be the President, also be the President of
the respective Council; and
(b) the officers, if any,
appointed under clause (a) to be the President of the Council;
(c) five persons to be
nominated by the Provincial Government, of whom one shall be an
officer of that Government; and
(d) One person to be nominated by the provincial
Branch of the Pakistan Pharmacists Association
6.Disqualification
for membership: A person,
other than a professor of a medical institution of a pharmacy institution
or an officer of the Provincial Government nominated under Clause(c)
of sub section (1) of Section 5, shall not be eligible for nomination
as a member of the council unless he is a pharmacist registered
in Register A;
Provided
that, for the purpose of the constitution of the first Council after
the Commencement of the Pharmacy (Amendment) Act, 1973, a person
who is qualified to be registered as a pharmacist under this Act
shall be eligible for such nomination.
7. Publication
of names. The Central
Government shall publish in the official Gazette the names or the
official titles of the members of the Council.
8. Term of
office. (1) Subject to
provision of subsection (2), a member other than an ex- officio
member shall hold office for a period of three years commencing
on the day on which he assumes office and shall be eligible for
re-nomination.
Provided
that notwithstanding the expiry of his term a member shall continue
to function until his successor assumes office.
(2) Where
the Central Government or, as the case may be, the Provincial Government,
upon recommendation of a majority of the members of the Council,
is satisfied that a member of the Council is negligent in the discharge
of his duties or is guilty of any unprofessional or dishonorable
conduct or is otherwise not competent to perform the function of
a member, it may, by notification in the official Gazette, remove
such member; and upon the publication of such notification the seat
of the member shall become vacant.
9. Filling
of casual vacancy. A
casual vacancy in the office of a member shall be filled for the
remainder of term of such member not being less than six months,
by nominating another person in his place, in the same manner in
which such a member was nominated.
10. Vacancy, etc., not to invalidate the proceedings
of a Council. No act
or proceedings of a Council shall be valid merely on the ground
of the existence of any vacancy in, or any defect in the composition
of, the Council.
11. Election
of Vice- President. (1) A Council shall every year elect one
of its members to be the vice President of the Council and the Vice-President
so elected shall hold office for a period of one year and shall
be eligible for re-election:
Provided
that a Vice-President shall, not with-standing the expiry of his
term, continue to function until his successor is elected.
(2) The
Vice-President shall perform such functions as may be entrusted
to him by the Council and, in the absence of the President also
the, functions of the President.
12. Committees of a Council. (1) A Council may constitute such committees as it deems fit for the
purpose of advising and assisting it in the performance of its functions.
(2) A committee constituted under sub-section (1)
may co-opt as its member any person whose assistance or advice it
may consider necessary for the efficient performance of its functions.
13. Meetings
of Council. (1) A Council
shall meet at such time and place, and a meeting of Council shall
be summoned and conducted in such manner, as may be laid down by
its byelaws.
Provided that, until such bye-laws are made, the
President of the Council may, by notice addressed to each member
summon and conduct a meeting at such time and place and in such
manner as he may deem expedient.
(2) The President and, in his absence, the Vice-President
shall preside at every meeting of the Council and, in the absence
of both the President and the Vice-President, the members present
shall elect one amongst them to preside.
(3) The quorum for a meeting of the Council shall
be one third of the total numbers a fraction being counted as one.
14. Annual Report. As soon as may be after
the close of every year, the Central Council shall submit to the
Central Government an annual report giving an account of its proceedings
together with a statement of moneys received and expenses incurred
by it during that year.
15. Appointment
of Secretary, officers and staff of the Council. (1) A
council shall, with the approval in the case of the Central Council
of the Central Government and in the case of a Provincial Council
of the Provincial Government, appoint a Secretary from amongst persons
eligible for registration as pharmacists in Register "A"
on such terms and conditions as it may deem fit.
(2) The Council may also appoint such officers and
staff as may be necessary for the efficient performance of its functions.
16. Finances.
(1) The funds of the Central Council shall consist of such moneys
as may be placed at its disposal by the Central Government.
(2) The funds of a Provincial Council shall consist
of the fees received by it under this Act and of such moneys as
may be placed at its disposal by the Provincial Government.
17. Functions
of the Central Council. (1) The functions of the Central Council
shall be
(a) to approve examinations in pharmacy for the purpose of qualifying
persons for registration as pharmacists;
(b) to prescribe the subjects in which approved examinations shall
be held;
(c) to approve the courses of study and practical training in pharmacy
for the purpose of admission to approved examination;
(d) to prescribe the conditions and procedure for admission of
candidates to an approved examination;
(e) to lay down the standard of teaching to be maintained by institutions
conducting the approved courses of study;
(f) to prescribe the equipment and facilities to be made available
to the students;
(g) to recognise degree or diplomas in
pharmacy for the purpose of registration as pharmacists;
(h) to
cause inspection of institutions which conduct any courses of study
in pharmacy and of the teachings imparted and examinations held
by them; and
(i) to do such other acts and things as it may be empowered or
required to do by or under this Act.
(2) The Central Council, with the previous approval
of the Central Government, may, by notification in the official
Gazette, make regulations for the purposes of sub-section (1).
18. Approval
of examinations. (1) Any institution or authority, including
a Provincial Council, which holds an examination in pharmacy, may
apply to the Central Council for approval of the examination for
the purpose of qualifying a person for registration as a pharmacist
under this Act.
(2) The Central
Council, if it is satisfied after such inquiry as it may think fit
that the examination for the approval of which an application has
been made under sub-section (1) is in conformity with this Act and
the regulations, shall approve the examination and, by notification
in the official Gazette, declare it to be an approved examination
for the purpose of qualifying a person for registration as a pharmacist
under this Act.
19. Approval
of courses of study.-(1) Any institution or authority which
conducts a course of study in pharmacy may apply to the Central
Council for approval of such course of study for the purpose of
admission to an approved examination.
(2) The Central Council, if is satisfied after such
inquiry as it may think fit that the course of study for the approval of which an application has been
made under sub-section (1) is in conformity with this Act and the
regulations, shall submit the application together with its recommendation
to the Central Government and shall, upon the approval of the course
of study by the Central Government, declare it, by notification
in the official Gazette, to be an approved course of study for the
purpose of admission to an approved examination.
20. Furnishing
of information.- Every institution or authority which applies
for the approval of an examination under section 18 or of a course
of study under section 19, or holds an approved examination, or
conducts an approved course of study, shall furnish to the Central
Council such information as the Council may, from time to time,
require relating to-
(a) the course of study conducted and training given;
(b) the examination held;
(c) the ages at which the students may undergo the course of study;
(d) the equipment and facilities provided for the students; and
(e) matters generally pertinent to the course
of study, training and examinations and standard of teaching.
21. Inspectors.- (1) The Central Council may appoint such Inspectors for
the inspection of institutions as it may consider necessary.
(2) An Inspector appointed under sub-section (1)
may, if he is so authorised in writing
by the President of the Council,-
(a) inspect any institution which holds an approved examination
or conducts an approved course of study and may attend any such
examination held by such institution;
(b) inspect any institution which has applied for the approval
of the examination held, or course of study conducted, by it and
attend any examination held by such institution.
(3) An Inspector who attends any examination shall
not interfere with the conduct thereof but shall submit to the Central
Council a report on the sufficiency or otherwise of such examination
and on any other matter in regard to which the Central Council may
require him to report.
22. Withdrawal
of approval. (1) Where, upon a report by an Inspector, it appears
to the Central Council that an approved course of study or an approved
examination does not continue to be in
conformity with this Act and the regulation, the Central
Council shall give notice to the institution or authority concerned
calling upon it to explain in writing why the approval of its course
of study or examination should not be withdrawn.
(2) The institution or authority to whom a notice has been given under sub-section (1) shall, within
sixty days from the receipt of such notice, comply with the notice
and may also make such representation to the Central Council, through
the Provincial Government, as it may wish to make.
(3) The Central
Council, after considering the explanation given and any representation
made under sub-section (2) and any observations on the representation
which the Provincial government may think fit to make, may, by notification
in the official Gazette declare that its approval of the course
of study or examination conducted or held by the institution or
authority concerned shall stand withdrawn with affect from such
date as may be specified therein; and every such declaration shall
state that the course of study or examination conducted or held
by such institution or authority shall be deemed to be approved
only when completed or passed, as the case may be, before the date
so specified.
23. Functions
of a Provincial Council.- The functions
of a Provincial Council shall be-
(a) to prepare and maintain registers of pharmacists and apprentices
in pharmacy;
(b) to register pharmacists and grant certificates of registration.
(c) to conduct examinations for the purpose of registration as
pharmacists; and
(d) to do such other acts and things as it may be empowered or
required to do by this Act.
24. Preparation
and maintenance of Registers.- (1) The Provincial Council shall
prepare or cause to be prepared and maintained the following Registers
of Pharmacists and apprentices for the Province, namely:-
(a) Register A - in which shall be registered
the persons specified in clause (a) of sub-section (1) of section
25;
(b) Register
B - in which shall be registered the persons specified in clauses
(b) and (c) of the said sub-section; and
(c) Register C - in which shall be registered
the apprentices in pharmacy;
Provided that
the Provincial Council may, with the previous approval of the Provincial
Government, discontinue the registration of apprentices in pharmacy
and may, with like approval re-open such registration after it has
been discontinued and shall, upon such discontinuance or re-opening,
publish in the official gazette a notice there of specifying the
date of such discontinuance or re-opening.
(2) Every Register prepared and maintained under
sub-section (1) shall include the following particulars relating
to a person registered, namely;
(a)
full name;
(b)
residential address;
(c)
professional address;
(d) father's name;
(e)
date and place of birth;
(f)
nationality;
(g)
qualification;
(h) date on which
registered; and
(i)
such other particulars as may be prescribed
by bye-laws.
25. Qualifications
for registration as a pharmacist or as an apprentice in pharmacy.-(1)
The following persons shall, subject to the provision of sub-section
(3), be qualified for registration as pharmacists under this Act,
namely;
(a) persons who hold a
degree in pharmacy conferred by a University or an institution affiliated
thereto, where the degree is recognised
by the Central Council;
(b) persons who hold a
diploma in pharmacy granted by any institution recognised
by the Central Council; and
(c) persons who pass the
examination in pharmacy held by a Provincial Council.
(1-a) Subject
to the provisions of sub-section (3) during the period of
one year from the commencement of the Pharmacy (Amendment) Act 1973,
a person who was on the 19th day of June, 1972 to be deemed to be
qualified for registration as a Pharmacist shall be deemed to be
so qualified; and
(2) The following persons shall, subject to the
provisions of sub-section (3) be qualified to be registered as an
apprentice in Pharmacy, namely:
(i) an inspector of Drugs
and a government Analyst appointed under the Drugs Act, 1940 (XXIII
of 1940), if not otherwise eligible for registration;
(ii) a person certified
by a Government Hospital to be a qualified compounder and dispenser;
(iii) a person who has been taken as a student or
apprentice in Pharmacy by, and produces a certificate to that effect
from, a Pharmacist registered in Register "A" and approved
for the purpose, by notification in the official Gazette, by the
Provincial Government, and
(iv) a person who is a
qualified person within the meaning of rule 65 of the West Pakistan
Drugs Rules 1958, if not otherwise eligible for registration.
(3) No person shall be qualified for registration
as a Pharmacist or as an apprentice in pharmacy-
(a) if he is of unsound
mind and stands so declared by a court; or
(b) if
he has been convicted by a court of any offence which in the opinion
of the Provincial Council involves moral turpitude.
26. Procedure
for registration. (1) As soon as may be after the opening of
the Registers under section 24, the Provincial Council shall, by
notification in the official Gazette, invite applications from persons
desirous of being registered as pharmacists or as apprentices in
pharmacy.
(2) An application for registration shall contain
such particulars and be made in such form as may be specified by
the Provincial Council and shall be accompanied be such fee as may
be prescribed by the bye-laws.
(3) The Provincial Council shall examine every application
received by it and, if it is satisfied that the applicant is qualified
for registration under section 25, direct the entry of the name
of the applicant in the appropriate Register.
(4) The Provincial Council shall, if it rejects
the application of any person, inform the applicant in writing of
such rejection within ninety days from the date of receipt of the
application, and the applicant may within sixty days of the receipt
of the information appeal against such rejection to the Provincial
Government whose decision shall be final.
(5) Failure to inform the applicant of the rejection
within the period specified in sub-section (4) shall be treated
as acceptance of the application for registration.
27. Certificate
of registration. (1) The Provincial Council shall issue a certificate
of registration to a person who has been registered under section
26.
(2)
A certificate of registration issued under sub-section (1) shall
bear a number and the official seal of the Council and be signed
by its President and the Secretary and shall contain the following,
namely;-
(a) a passport size photograph
of the person registered
(b) the full signature
of the person registered; and
(c) an endorsement of any
mark of identification of the person registered.
(3) A copy of the certificate with all the particulars
specified in sub-section (2) shall be kept in the official record
of the Council,
(4) A person to whom a certificate
of registration has been issued may, if the original is lost, defaced
or mutilated or for any other reason, obtain a duplicate thereof
on payment of the same fee as was paid for the original.
28. Revocation
of certificate.-(1) The Provincial Council may, after giving
the person concerned an opportunity to make representation and of
being heard, revoke the certificate of registration issued to him,
if such person-
(a) incurs any disqualification
specified in sub-section (3) of section 25; or
(b) contravenes any of
the provisions of the Poisons Act, 1919 (XII of 1919), the Dangerous
Drugs Act, 1930 (II of 1930) the Drugs Act 1940 (XXIII of 1940),
or this Act or of the rules made under any of those Acts; or
(c) fails or neglects to comply with any directive
in respect of the profession of a pharmacist with the Central Government
or the Provincial government may, from time to time, issue; or
(d) is guilty of such professional
misconduct as may be laid down by the Provincial Council in this
behalf.
(2) Where any certificate of registration is revoked
under sub-section (1), the name of the person whose certificate
has been so revoked shall, after he has been given a notice in writing
of such revocation, be struck off the register in which his name
was entered and his registration shall thereupon stand cancelled.
(3) The Provincial Council may, of its own motion
and shall, upon an application made in this behalf within thirty
days of the receipt of the notice under sub-section (2) by the person
concerned review its decision to revoke a certificate of registration;
and the decision of the Council upon such review shall be final.
29. Examination
for registration as pharmacists. (1) For the purpose of registration
as pharmacists, the Provincial Council shall, after giving notice
in this behalf hold examinations twice in every year.
(2) An examination under sub-section (1) shall be
held at such place in a province as the Provincial Council may decide.
(3) Notice of an examination shall be published
for a continuous period of not less than one week in at least one
newspaper in English and one newspaper in the local language, each
having wide circulation in the Province.
(4) Every application for admission to an examination
shall be made in such manner and in such form as may be specified
by the Provincial Council and shall be accompanied by-
(a) such fee as may be
prescribed by the bye-laws;
(b) a certificate of good
moral character from a respectable person; and
(c) such other papers or
particulars as may be required by the Provincial Council.
30. Qualification
for admission to an examination.-An applicant for admission
to an examination under section 29,-
(a) shall not be below
seventeen years of age on the date fixed for the examination;
(b) must have passed the matriculation examination
or an equivalent Higher Secondary or Senior Cambridge examination
with general science as one of the subject; and
(c) must have been registered
as an apprentice in pharmacy for a period of not less than two years
before the date fixed for the examination.
Provided that clause (c) shall not apply during
any period during which registration of apprentices in pharmacy
remains discontinued under the proviso to sub-section (1) of section
24 and the period of two years thereafter:
Provided further that, notwithstanding anything
contained in this Act, it shall not be necessary for any apprentice
in Pharmacy to attend any regular classes or to complete any number
of days or lectures at any institution for the purpose of being
qualified to be admitted to an examination under section 29.
31. Prohibition
of practice without registration.-
(1) Subject to the provisions of
sub-section (4), no person shall, after the expiry of five years
from the commencement of this Act or such later date as the Central
Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, specify
in this behalf, practice as a pharmacist unless he is a registered
pharmacist and displays his certificate of registration in a conspicuous
place within the premises in which he so practices.
(2) Whoever employs any pharmacist for the purpose
of any business in pharmacy shall cause the certificate of registration
of the pharmacist so employed, to be displayed in a conspicuous
place within the premises in which such business is carried on
(3) Whoever contravenes the provisions of sub-section
(1) or sub-section (2) shall be punishable with imprisonment of
either description for a term which may extend to six months, or
with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with both.
(4) Nothing in sub-section (1) shall apply to-
(a) a registered medical
practitioner as defined in the Medical Council Ordinance, 1962 (XXXII
of 1962), or a person authorized to prescribe antibiotic and dangerous
drugs under the Allopathic System (Prevention of Misuse) Ordinance,
1962 (LXV of 1962), who dispenses medicine to his own patients or
serves his own prescriptions;
(b) a person who deals in non-poisonous household
remedies in original and un-opened container at any store or place
or prepares non-poisonous household remedies in accordance with the rules made under/Drugs Act, 1940 (XXIII
of 1940),
(c) a person who manufactures,
sells or distributes drugs and medicines which fall exclusively
under the unani, ayurvedic,
biochemic or homoepathic
system of medicine;
(d) a person engaged as
a health or veterinary technician in a Government hospital or institution;
(e) a foreign pharmacist
who is engaged, with the approval of the Central Council, for the
purposes of consultation, advice or instruction, and
(f) an apprentice in Pharmacy,
during the period of four years from the commencement of the Pharmacy
(Amendment) Act, 1973 or during such further period as the Federal
Government may, be notification in the official Gazette, specify
in this behalf.
32. Cognizance
of offences, etc. No court shall
take cognizance of an offence under this Act except upon a complaint
in writing made by an Inspector appointed under the Drugs Act 1940
(XXIII of 1940), or an officer specially empowered in this behalf
by the Provincial Government.
33. Indemnity.- No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall lie
against any person for any-thing which is in good faith done or
intended to be done under this Act.
34. Power
to make bye-laws. (1) A Council may with the previous approval,
in the case of the Central Council of the Central Government and
in the case of Provincial Council of the Provincial Government,
make bye-laws for carrying out the purposes of this Act.
(2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality
of the foregoing power, such bye- laws may provide for all or any
of the following matters, namely:
(a) the procedure for the
meetings of the Council and of its committees;
(b) the management of the
property of the Council;
(c) maintenance and audit
of the accounts of the Council;
(d) the procedure for election
of the Vice-President;
(e) the powers and duties
of the President., Vice-President and other members of the Council;
(f) the terms and conditions
of the service of the Secretary and other officers and staff of
the Council;
(g) fees to be prescribed
under this Act; and
(h) such other matters
as are required by this Act to be provided for by bye-laws or are
considered necessary for the efficient performance of the functions
of the Council.
(3) Until such time as the bye-laws are made, the
President of the Council may issue such instructions as he may consider
necessary to regulate all or any of the matters specified in sub-section
(2); and any such instructions shall stand rescinded upon the making
of bye-laws by the Council.
Saving.- Nothing in this Act shall be deemed to affect the registration
of any person who registered under the said Act immediately before
the commencement of this Act.
|
