Iran's penal organization says bundled drug selling is banned, with a fine of five times the price of the forced goods

Seyed Yaser Rayegani, spokesman for Iran's Government Penal Organization (Ta'zirat), announced on Saturday, 25 July 2026, that the organization has taken up reports and complaints about the practice known as "basket selling" in the pharmaceutical distribution network. He said that making the sale of drugs pharmacies need conditional on the compulsory purchase of other items amounts to forced selling.

Rayegani said that under Article 29 of the Government Penal Law on health and medical affairs, and clause 4 of Article 8 of the regulation governing the establishment and operation of health product distribution companies, supplying quota and speciality drugs in exchange for the purchase of other medicines is prohibited, particularly where it leads to discrimination between pharmacies in access to drugs. He added that under Article 64 of the Guilds Law, forced selling is an offence, and an offender must not only take back the imposed goods or compensate the damage but also pay a fine equal to five times the sale price of those goods.

According to the spokesman, under Article 72 of the Guilds Law the relevant trade union must review a complaint and give its opinion within 10 days at most, and if an offence is established, send the file to the Government Penal Organization for a final ruling. He also referred to a recent letter from the Association of Iranian Human Drug and Supplement Distribution Companies to the chief executives of distribution firms, which stressed avoiding basket selling.