IT raid gives Dolo-650 manufacturer a headache

NT Correspondent
Bengaluru:

The Income Tax Department conducted raids on Micro Labs Limited, manufacturer of the popular drug Dolo-650 in the city, during the wee hours of Wednesday. A team of more than 20 officers attached to the IT department carried out the raids on the Bengaluru-based pharmaceutical company located on Race Course Road in the city.

The raid was conducted in connection with the evasion of tax, sources said. The IT officials also raided the residences of Micro Labs Chairman and Managing Director Dileep Surana and Director Anand Surana. Surana has been involved in the pharmaceutical (pharma) industry for over 30 years and is one of the senior experts in the healthcare sector.

Since 1983, he has been in charge of its operations. Following the raids, the IT officials have collected vital documents from the Micro Labs Limited office for verification, sources added. It's being said that the company has struck gold in successive waves of Covid-19 pandemic.

The company has sold 350 crore tablets since the Covid-19 outbreak in 2020 and earned revenues of Rs 400 crore in a year crushing all rivals, sources said. The sales of Dolo pill broke all records. Experts quoted in the report say that Dolo-650 is on its way to becoming synonymous with paracetamol as Xerox and Bisleri are for their respective brands.

During the peak of Covid, Dolo-650 ruled social media trends and was called India’s favourite snack. Apart from Bengaluru, simultaneous raids were conducted at 40 different locations by 200 officers across the country, including New Delhi, Sikkim, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Goa. "The documents and records obtained during the raids are being checked," an official from the IT department said.