Nath has alleged: ``The chemist has an incentive to try and sell these syringes to the consumer rather than those of an Indian make because he can charge any price he wants to.''

According to the law an MRP tag is mandatory on all syringes. Nath alleges that syringes, imported from South East Asia, the US and Germany, do not fulfill this requirement. He added that the manufacturer's name and address are also not indicated on the syringe as required.

The import of these syringes has increased drastically, says Nath, because the import duties have fallen considerably in the past year. ``Yet this has not benefitted the consumer because chemists are selling these syringes to the consumer at whatever prices they want since no MRP is indicated. So prices of syringes being sold on the market are actually going up.''