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Batch number

The manufacturer's identifier for a specific production lot, printed on the pack.

The batch number identifies the production lot a pack came from. It is printed alongside the manufacturing and expiry dates, and it is the key that ties a pack on your shelf back to a purchase invoice, a supplier and an expiry date.

It is the single most useful non-statutory column in a stock register. Without it, a recall cannot be answered — there is no way to say which units you received, which you sold and which remain. With it, all three questions are answerable from the register alone.

Batch is also what makes FEFO possible. Expiry attaches to the batch, not to the medicine, so a register tracking only totals per medicine cannot say which units should move first.

Batch numbers are read from the strip and are easy to mis-transcribe under counter pressure — one wrong character breaks the link to the purchase invoice and, with it, any later expiry claim on that lot.

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Related terms

FEFO (First Expiry First Out)Dispensing the batch that expires soonest, rather than the one received first. Expiry returnSending near-expiry or expired stock back to the distributor for credit. Schedule H1Prescription-only medicines that additionally require a dedicated register entry under Rule 65. Rule 65The rule in the Drugs & Cosmetics Rules 1945 setting out sale conditions and record-keeping.

All terms

Batch numberBreakage and damageCDSCOCGST, SGST and IGSTCold chainCredit noteDPCO (Drugs Prices Control Order)Drug licence (Form 20 / Form 21)Expiry returnFEFO (First Expiry First Out)Generic vs branded medicineGSTR-1GSTR-3BHSN codeInput tax credit (ITC)Loose sale (cut strip)MRP (Maximum Retail Price)Narcotic registerNear-expiry stockNPPAPack factor (units per pack)Pharmacist registrationPTR (Price to Retailer)PTS (Price to Stockist)Purchase invoiceRed-border warning labelReorder levelRetail vs wholesale drug licenceReturn to vendor (RTV)Rule 65Rx symbolSalt compositionSchedule HSchedule H1Schedule XScheme goods (free goods)Shortbook (short book)Stock rotationStockist

This glossary is a practical reference for Indian retail pharmacy, not legal, tax or clinical advice. Requirements under the Drugs & Cosmetics Rules are enforced by state drug control authorities and vary; GST treatment should be confirmed with your CA. Verify anything you intend to rely on against the current notified position. As of August 2026.