What it costs to start a PCD pharma franchise, line by line

Starting a PCD pharma franchise has five costs: the wholesale Drug Licence, a premises of at least 10 square metres, the opening stock order, promotional inputs, and working capital to carry chemist credit. The licence fee is small and set by your state; Maharashtra charges ₹3,000 for Forms 20B and 21B. The opening order and working capital are the large lines, and both depend on the company’s terms and the number of doctors you can work.

Companies publish starter figures ranging from a few thousand rupees to several lakh. None of them means anything without the product list and the minimum order attached. This guide goes through each line, then the order to do things in. Where a number comes from a government source, we link it. Where it depends on a company’s rate list, ours included, we say so, because those are the figures to get in writing before you commit.

The cost lines

The licence comes first

You apply on Form 19 to the state licensing authority. Form 20B covers drugs other than those in Schedules C, C(1) and X; Form 21B covers Schedules C and C(1), which include many injectables. Most wholesalers hold both. Fees vary by state, and states revise them, so check the current challan amount with your drugs control department rather than relying on any article, this one included. The full list of papers is in documents required for a PCD pharma franchise.

The opening order is the number that matters

Most of the money goes into stock. Three things decide how much:

• The company’s minimum order. Ask for it as a rupee figure, not a carton count.
• How many products you take. A short list you can promote properly is worth more than a long one that sits. Pick the therapy areas where you know the prescribers.
• Pack sizes and shelf life. Stock that will not sell before it nears expiry is a cost. Ask about the company’s policy on near-expiry returns before you order.

Watch the schemes, too. Free goods on the opening order reduce the per-unit cost on paper and raise the stock you must sell before it expires. A scheme is a discount with more paperwork. Our own rates are on request. Whoever you buy from, get the rate list, the minimum order and the payment terms on paper.

Working out your working capital

Chemists in most territories buy on credit, and until they pay, your money is in their shop. A simple way to size it:

Working capital = (monthly sales at chemist rates × credit days ÷ 30) + one reorder of stock.

If chemists in your area pay in 30 days, you carry about one month of sales on credit plus the next order. If they pay in 60, you carry two. This is why collections matter as much as prescriptions in the first year, and why the opening order is not the number that decides whether you survive it. How the margin on that stock is set is in how the margin actually works.

What moves the total up or down

• The company. Minimum order, scheme structure, and who pays freight and promotional inputs.
• The range. General range needs more lines; a specialty division such as injectables needs fewer, higher-value ones and a hospital list.
• The territory. A district you can cover yourself costs travel. A state costs representatives.
• Your prescriber base. Doctors who already know you shorten the months before stock turns.

Step by step

1. Choose the territory. One district you can cover in person. Ask the company whether it is open before anything else.
2. Apply for the licence. Premises, competent person and Form 19. Nothing else moves until it is issued.
3. Register for GST in the same name and at the same address as the licence. A mismatch causes trouble at the first invoice.
4. Pick the starting range. Match it to the doctors you can reach. Our product catalogue lists ours by range.
5. Agree the terms in writing. Territory, product list, rates, minimum order, payment terms, freight and expiry returns. Monopoly rights in PCD pharma lists what the territory clause should say.
6. Place the opening order and plan the first 90 days: which doctors, how often, and which chemists near them will stock the product.
7. Reorder on what moves. After two or three cycles, drop what does not sell and deepen what does.

When not to order from us

If your Drug Licence has not been issued, do not place an opening order with us or with anyone. A company willing to dispatch stock to an unlicensed buyer is telling you how it treats the rest of the rules.

Questions people ask

How much investment does a PCD pharma franchise need?

Government fees are small: about ₹3,000 for a wholesale Drug Licence in Maharashtra, nothing to register for GST. The large lines are the opening stock order and working capital for chemist credit, and both depend on the company’s minimum order and your territory. Get them in writing before you decide.

Is there a franchise fee or security deposit?

Some companies charge one; many do not. Ask whether it exists, whether it is adjusted against stock, and whether it is refundable at exit. If it is not in the agreement, it was not offered.

What is the minimum investment to start?

Whatever the company’s minimum opening order is, plus the licence, premises and one month of chemist credit. A figure quoted without a product list attached is not a figure.

Which cost do new partners underestimate?

Working capital. Chemists buy on credit, so a month or two of sales sits in their shops before it comes back to you, and the next reorder is due before it does.

Who pays for promotional material?

It varies by company. Visual aids, sample packs and MR bags may be free, subsidised or billed against the order. Ask, and get the answer on the rate list.

Can I start a PCD franchise without a Drug Licence?

No. Nothing can be dispatched to you until the licence is issued. Apply first, then negotiate the territory.

Fees and rules checked against the linked sources on 8 October 2026. States revise fees; confirm the current amount with your state drugs control department. Not financial advice.