In a policy shift, the regulatory body for biomedical waste management has announced the cancellation of a previous circular that offered a one-time fee adjustment for perpetual authorization to healthcare facilities (HCFs) that had initially obtained authorization for a specific period. This change, effective immediately from April 16, 2024, applies to all new applications for authorization received henceforth.
The initial framework, established through a circular dated May 8, 2017, fixed annual fees for authorization under the Biomedical Waste Management Rules, 2016, for non-bedded clinics and laboratories, allowing authorization for a maximum duration of fifteen years. Subsequently, a revised circular introduced a one-time authorization fee granting ‘perpetual’ validity to these HCFs.
Recognizing the financial strain caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent economic challenges, a circular issued on March 24, 2021, provided a temporary relaxation. This allowed HCFs that had obtained time-bound authorizations under the 2017 circular to extend their validity to perpetual status by paying the one-time fee after deducting the amount already paid.
However, the 215th Board meeting of the regulatory body has now decided to discontinue this deduction for those who paid the fee under the 2017 circular. The board reasoned that the relaxation was specifically granted in response to the financial crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, and with more than five years having passed since the introduction of the perpetual validity system, the rationale for the deduction no longer holds.
Consequently, the Circular dated March 24, 2021, stands cancelled from the date of the new circular. This means that all new applications for authorization for non-bedded clinics and laboratories will now be subject to the standard perpetual validity fee structure without any deduction based on fees paid under the earlier time-bound system.
This policy change signals a return to the established system of perpetual validity with a one-time fee for new applicants, marking the end of the pandemic-related financial relief in this specific regulatory aspect.
