Veterinary medicine and service

About the business

In a village the medicine shop for cattle, goats and poultry and the treatment service run together, but in law they are two entirely different things and each needs its own permission. Section 17 of the Bangladesh Veterinary Council Act 2019 bars anyone from practising veterinary medicine, or calling himself a veterinary doctor or practitioner, without registration and a certificate under that Act; section 35 punishes a breach with up to three years' imprisonment or a Tk 2 lakh fine or both, and section 27 forbids a paravet from putting 'Dr' before his name. The shop side is no easier. Section 30(1) requires anyone running a veterinary clinic, service centre or feed-and-medicine establishment commercially to apply to the Council for recognition, and section 37(2) punishes running one without that recognition with up to two years or Tk 5 lakh, plus Tk 50,000 for every day the offence continues. The licence to sell medicine comes from somewhere else entirely - the Directorate General of Drug Administration. The Department of Livestock Services' citizen's charter has no medicine-selling licence at all; what it does have is a feed manufacturing licence (Tk 10,000, renewal Tk 5,000, valid one year) and a free no-objection certificate for importing or exporting medicines and vaccines, issued in 16 working days.

Unit economics

What you need to start

• A refrigerator for vaccines and medicines, syringes and needles, thermometer, drenching gun, a weight tape, and a liquid nitrogen container if you do artificial insemination.Equipment
• Recognition of the establishment by the Bangladesh Veterinary Council under section 30(1), required for anyone running a veterinary clinic, service centre, feed-and-medicine establishment, slaughterhouse, breeding establishment, rehabilitation centre or diagnostic centre commercially. Section 37(2) punishes running one without it with up to two years or Tk 5 lakh or both, plus Tk 50,000 for each continuing day.Licence
• Drug sale licence from DGDA: retail allopathic Tk 2,500 in municipal and metropolitan areas or Tk 1,500 in a union, in 60 days; renewal Tk 1,800 inside a municipal area or Tk 700 outside, in 7 working days. Wholesale is Tk 10,000 with Tk 5,000 renewal. The licence runs two years under section 15(1) of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act 2023.Licence
• Veterinary Council registration and certificate. Section 17 bars practising or claiming to be a veterinary doctor without it; section 35 sets up to three years' imprisonment or a Tk 2 lakh fine or both. Registration is renewable every four years under section 19(4). The fee is set by rules and could not be verified.Licence
• Trade licence from the city corporation or municipality: form Tk 10, licence book Tk 50, standard tax Tk 30, stamp Tk 150-300, licence fee Tk 100-60,000 by trade type.Licence
• Recognising disease, setting the dose and injecting safely, plus the habit of checking batch number, expiry and storage temperature - a spoiled vaccine puts a farmer's whole flock at risk.Skill
• A drug company's distributor or a wholesale depot, and for vaccines a supplier who keeps the cold chain. Imported vaccines or medicines need the DLS no-objection certificate, given free in 16 working days.Supplier

How the work is done

1. 1First decide what you will actually do: sell medicine only, or treat as well. Treating requires Bangladesh Veterinary Council registration and a certificate, or section 17 is being breached.
2. 2To treat, apply to the Council for registration with a recognised degree under section 19. Registration must be renewed every four years under section 19(4).
3. 3If you are a paravet, know the limit: section 27 forbids a paravet from calling himself a veterinary doctor or prefixing 'Dr' to his name.
4. 4Apply to the Council for recognition of the establishment. Section 30(1) makes it compulsory for anyone running a veterinary clinic, service centre or feed-and-medicine establishment commercially.
5. 5Take the medicine sale licence from DGDA. The retail allopathic fee is Tk 2,500 in municipal and metropolitan areas and Tk 1,500 in a union, in 60 days, valid two years.
6. 6Take the trade licence from the city corporation or municipality and keep it current in the shop's name; DGDA's application requires it.
7. 7Keep a refrigerator. Vaccines and some medicines spoil without cold storage, and a dead flock from a spoiled vaccine ends the business too.
8. 8Keep a separate place for expired medicine and never sell it: section 40(kha) of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act 2023 makes that an offence with up to one year or Tk 50,000.
9. 9Stay in touch with the upazila livestock officer's office - vaccination programmes, disease outbreaks and government instructions come from there, and so do introductions to farmers.
10. 10Write down every farmer's credit and cap it. One bad cycle on a poultry farm leaves a large balance stuck, and that money is hard to get back.
11. 11Making feed needs a separate licence. Under the DLS charter a category-1 animal feed manufacturing licence costs Tk 1,000 to apply, Tk 10,000 for the licence and Tk 5,000 to renew, valid one year, in 60 working days, with 15 percent VAT on every fee.

Sources

• বাংলাদেশ ভেটেরিনারি কাউন্সিল আইন, ২০১৯ (২০১৯ সনের ১৩ নং আইন) — ধারা ১৭, ১৯, ২৩, ২৭, ৩০, ৩৫ ও ৩৭

  Collected: 10 Jul 2019

  Supports: Starting capital · বাংলাদেশ

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