How to Handle Near-Expiry and Expired Stock Properly
Near-expiry stock is a commercial decision. Expired stock is not a decision at all. The two need completely different handling, and conflating them is how brands end up shipping product they should not.
Two Different Situations
This guide is for supplement, Ayurvedic and herbal brand owners in India.
Near-expiry stock is still within its shelf life. It can be sold, provided the buyer is not misled about the remaining shelf life and any commitments you have made about minimum remaining life are honoured. The decisions are commercial.
Expired stock is past the date you substantiated and printed. It should not be sold, supplied, relabelled, repacked or given away as samples. The shelf life was a claim supported by stability data, and selling past it contradicts your own evidence.
The practical risk is drift between the two: stock that was near-expiry when a decision was deferred and is now expired while sitting in the same location as saleable inventory.
Options for Near-Expiry Stock
Legitimate commercial responses.
| Option | Considerations |
|---|---|
| Sell at a discount with the date disclosed | The buyer must not be misled; state the remaining shelf life |
| Prioritise it in dispatch | First expiry first out, as routine practice rather than a response |
| Offer it for a shorter-cycle use | Where a buyer will consume it quickly |
| Use it for internal purposes | Retention samples, photography, testing, within its date |
| Offer it to distributors who will move it fast | Only with the date disclosed and within any commitments you made |
| Write it off before it expires | Sometimes the cleanest answer, and better than shipping it late |
Honour any minimum remaining shelf life commitment you have made to a buyer or distributor. Shipping stock below an agreed minimum is a breach even where the product is within date.
Handling Expired Stock
A short, firm process.
- Segregate it physically from saleable stock, in a clearly marked location.
- Record it: SKU, batch, quantity, expiry date and the date segregated.
- Remove it from any inventory system count available for sale.
- Dispose of it in accordance with applicable requirements, obtaining advice on what applies.
- Record the disposal, including quantity and date.
- Retain the batch’s documentation, since units from that batch may remain in the market.
- Review why it expired, and record the cause for the next purchase decision.
What Never to Do
Five practices that occur and should not.
Relabelling or Over-Stickering
Changing or covering an expiry date is falsification of a substantiated claim, regardless of the product’s apparent condition.
Repacking Into New Containers
A new pack does not create a new shelf life. Stability data applies to the original pack from the original manufacture date.
Giving It Away as Samples
A sample is a product. Giving away expired stock distributes a product past its substantiated life.
Selling It Cheaply Without Disclosure
Expired stock should not be sold at any price, and near-expiry stock requires disclosure.
Leaving It With Saleable Stock
This is how expired units ship by accident. Physical segregation is the control.
The last is the most common. Expired stock sitting in the same location as good stock will eventually be picked, which turns an accounting problem into a shipped product problem.
Reducing the Problem at Source
Most expired stock was ordered rather than unsold.
The cause is usually a purchase decision months earlier: a batch sized on optimistic projections, a volume discount taken without a sales case, or printed packaging ordered in a quantity that forced a larger production run.
Four practical controls. Size batches against conservative demand and shelf life. Review stock ageing monthly so slow movers surface early rather than at expiry. Dispatch on first expiry first out as routine. And treat a write-off as information: record which SKU, which cause, and feed it into the next purchase decision rather than absorbing it quietly.
Checklist
Set this up as standing practice.
- Record expiry dates against every batch in your inventory system.
- Dispatch on first expiry first out as routine.
- Review stock ageing monthly.
- Define a near-expiry threshold at which a decision must be made.
- Honour any minimum remaining shelf life commitments.
- Disclose remaining shelf life on any discounted near-expiry sale.
- Segregate expired stock physically and immediately.
- Remove expired stock from saleable inventory counts.
- Never relabel, repack or sample expired stock.
- Obtain advice on disposal requirements and record disposals.
- Retain documentation for expired batches, since units may remain in the market.
- Record the cause of every write-off and use it in purchase planning.
Want to Reduce Write-Offs at Source?
Share your product and sales pattern and our team will advise on realistic batch sizes and shelf life.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I sell near-expiry stock?
Yes, provided the buyer is not misled about the remaining shelf life and any minimum remaining life commitments you have made are honoured. Disclose the remaining shelf life on any discounted sale.
Can I do anything with expired stock?
No. It should not be sold, supplied, relabelled, repacked or given away as samples. The shelf life was a claim supported by stability data, and distributing product past it contradicts your own evidence.
Does repacking create a new shelf life?
No. Stability data applies to the original pack from the original manufacture date, so a new container does not extend the product’s substantiated life. Relabelling or over-stickering a date is falsification.
What is the most common operational failure?
Leaving expired stock in the same location as saleable stock, where it will eventually be picked. Physical segregation immediately on expiry is the control that prevents an accounting problem becoming a shipped product problem.
How do I reduce write-offs?
At source. Most expired stock was ordered rather than unsold, so size batches against conservative demand and shelf life, review stock ageing monthly, dispatch first expiry first out, and record the cause of every write-off for the next purchase decision.