The Legal Affairs Office of the President has requested an investigation into the reasons behind the ban on the sale of nutritional and sports supplements on Digikala’s website, through a letter addressed to the heads of the Food and Drug Administration and the Electronic Commerce Development Center.
According to Iran digital economy annotation, Mohammad Hadi Ebadi, Deputy for Coordination and Planning of Legal Affairs in Executive Bodies, in a letter to the head of the Food and Drug Administration and the head of the Electronic Commerce Development Center of the Ministry of Industry, Mines, and Trade, requested that the issue of the “ban on the sale of supplements on Digikala’s website” be reviewed.
Previously, Hossein Molazadeh, Secretary of the Digital Knowledge-Based Economy Development Task Force, in a letter to the Deputy for Coordination and Planning of Legal Affairs in Executive Bodies, stated: Regarding the supervisory considerations of the Food and Drug Administration through eNAMAD, concerning the ban on the sale of supplements on Digikala’s website, it should be noted that this company’s activities are solely in the field of nutritional and sports supplements and are conducted through its marketplace by pharmacies that have online sales licenses from the Food and Drug Administration.
The letter also mentioned the distribution of drugs through online platforms: The guideline for the distribution and transportation of drugs via platforms and online businesses has not imposed any restrictions on the sale of supplements for marketplace platforms.
This letter marks the first action by high-level government bodies and organizations in the conflict between digital businesses and the Food and Drug Administration; organizations that are seeking to remove restrictions on online businesses.
Earlier, the Food and Drug Administration had banned the sale of pharmaceutical supplements by Digikala and other online businesses for certain reasons. According to Ebadi’s letter, it seems that the organization’s opposition is due to some supervisory concerns regarding the sale of pharmaceutical supplements.
This issue is set to be discussed in the Task Force on Startup Business Issues, led by the Legal Affairs Office of the President and with the participation of other executive bodies.
A copy of this letter has also been sent to the heads of the Information Technology Organization of Iran, the Digital Economy Development Task Force, the National Center for Studies, Monitoring, and Improvement of Business Environment of the Ministry of Economy, the Iranian Chamber of Guilds, the Iran Chamber of Commerce, and several other relevant authorities in this field.
According to the letter, based on the resolution of the Central Headquarters for Combating the Smuggling of Goods and Currency, which was approved last January, the Food and Drug Administration is required to publish the memorandum of understanding and regulations for the operation and distribution of non-pharmacy items to prevent monopoly. However, according to the letter from the Secretary of the Knowledge-Based Economy Development Task Force, the organization has not yet taken any action in this regard.
Molazadeh, therefore, requested in his letter that the issue of restricting Digikala and other platforms in the sale of supplements be reviewed in the Task Force on Startup Business Issues, under the responsibility of the Legal Affairs Office.
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