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Fake products: 80% of consumers believe they use genuine ones, say FICCI

NEW DELHI: Around 20 per cent of accidents on Indian roads are caused by counterfeit automobile parts, while 30 per cent of FMCG items sold are fake, but 80 per cent of consumers still believe that they are using genuine products, according to FICCI CASCADE.

Stating that illicit products are adversely affecting Indian consumers, the industry body which is working on addressing the issue of unlawful trade activities in India, said there’s an urgent need to increase not just awareness in consumer but also among lawmakers and enforcement agencies.

FICCI CASCADE(Committee Against Smuggling and Counterfeiting Activities Destroying the Economy) further said counterfeiting and illicit trade has also led to huge revenue loss to the exchequer.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/fake-products-80-of-consumers-believe-they-use-genuine-ones-say-ficci/articleshow/64556555.cms

Seminar on Combating Counterfeiting and Smuggling- An Imperative to Accelerate Economic Development, Hyderabad

12/6/2018 | Taj Banjara, Road 1, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad

Illicit trade costs billions of dollars in tax revenues, diminishing legitimate business revenues, distorting economies, eroding social fabric and fueling organized crime. In order to lower the incidence of such illegal trading activities, we need a coordinated response from all the stakeholders, bridge the enforcement gaps which can be exploited by criminal networks, reassess capacities to counter illicit trade, and identify areas which yield greatest public benefit and awareness.

Illicit trade is a major concern worldwide. To address this issue, FICCI CASCADE (Committee Against Smuggling and Counterfeiting Activities Destroying the Economy) organized a seminar on ‘Combating Counterfeiting and Smuggling – An Imperative to Accelerate Economic Development’ on 12 June 2018, in Hyderabad. The seminar was organized to provide stakeholders with the tools, information and capacity needed to tackle illicit trade.

Mr. Etela Rajender, Minster for Finance & Planning, Small Savings, State Lotteries, Consumer Affairs, Legal Metrology, Civil Supplies, Government of Telangana, the Chief Guest on the occasion, stated that counterfeiting and smuggling were a huge area of concern as it acutely impacted the health and safety of the common people, along with massive revenue and tax losses to industry and the governments, respectively. Such is the enormity of the issue that it requires stern deterrence and joint action between all stakeholders. He emphasized on the need for all enforcement mechanisms to come together to combat this menace. The Minister also stated that their government was very proactive in taking actions against the perpetrators. He extended the support of his government to FICCI in carrying forward the initiative against illicit trade, and welcomed the participation of industry and consumers in fighting the growing menace.

Mr. Devendra Surana, Chairman, FICCI Hyderabad State Council & Managing Director, Bhagyanagar India Ltd., while welcoming the dignitaries, referred to how counterfeiting and smuggling adversely impacting industries, consumers, government and economies as a whole worldwide. He observed that all stakeholders must understand the need for safeguarding the rights of legitimate industry and work towards developing competitiveness in various sectors of the economy.

Mr. Gowra Srinivas, President, Federation of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FTAPCCI), in his address, pointed out that counterfeit products were available across all industries. Even in the case of a critical item like intravenous fluids (saline water), more than 5% of the total world trade is estimated to be counterfeited. Rapid technology developments and low barriers to market entry are the main reasons for the increase in such activities. A vigorous implementation of laws was the need of the hour, he emphasized.

Mr. Anil Kumar Jain, Principal Commissioner, Customs, in his Special Address, stressed on the need to have a multi-disciplinary approach to encounter this challenge. Society at large, and trade and industry needs to come together to fight this major issue. He said that the problem was two-fold: counterfeiting and smuggling, and needed to be dealt with through collaborative, effective and stern actions. He also highlighted a recent case of illicit cigarette transactions at ICD, Hyderabad.

Mr. P. C. Jha, Advisor, FICCI CASCADE and Former Chairman, Central Board of Excise and Customs, stated that “During the last twenty years, the volume of counterfeiting activities globally has increased 100 times and the size of trade in counterfeited goods is 10% of the legal international trade (around 2% of the world’s overall economic output). The problem of illicit trade is much more serious than it is commonly perceived.”

The seminar also held a panel discussion on ‘Countering Counterfeiting and Smuggling: Resolutions and Solutions’, where experts from various fields deliberated on the issue at hand.

Mr. Deep Chand, Advisor, FICCI CASCADE and Former Special Commissioner of Police, New Delhi, who moderated the panel discussion, emphasized on the need for consumers being continuously made aware of the detrimental impact of illicit products. Awareness campaigns that explain to consumers how to differentiate a spurious product from a genuine one, to demanding a copy of the bill from the seller for every purchase, along with the harmful consequences of buying illegal products vis a vis a genuine one, were some of the key points that need to be explicitly conveyed in these initiatives.

Ms. J Parimala Hana Nutan, Superintendent of Police, Economic Offence Wing, CID, underlined the need for education and support from citizens to combat this evil. She said that such actions would enable Telangana Police to fight the menace of smuggling and counterfeiting strongly and effectively. “We don’t realize that the money generated from the purchase of fake products such as TVs, Handbags etc., are used for funding terror and anti-social activities around the globe.”

“Counterfeited mobile phones are easily available in India. We track each and every phone by matching IMEI and other features and identify whether it is genuine or not, and only then we allow for their imports”, said Mr. K Surender Paul, Deputy Commissioner, Customs. He also underlined the fact that disparity in taxes and prices of a commodity was another reason for increase in smuggling.

Mr. J L N Murthy, Advocate, Jonnalagadda LLP, appreciated Telangana Government’s initiatives to curb illicit trade. He lauded the consumer awareness program of Delhi Government which was using different medium of communication, and proposed that the Telangana government could also launch a similar drive. Mr. Gouri Sankara Rao, Chairman, Confederation of All Telangana Consumer Organizations (CATCO), underlined the need for Food Safety Officers for every 1 lakh people in India. He affirmed CATCO’s support to FICCI CASCADE in its nationwide awareness campaign to protect consumers rights in terms of health and safety, and proposed extending this drive to the remotest areas in the state”.

The panelists were in agreement that an effective deterrent in the form of strong laws was needed to be put in place to successfully curb the illicit trade menace.

Mr. Akhilesh Mahurkar, Head, FICCI Telangana and Andhra Pradesh State Council, proposing the Vote of Thanks, said that FICCI CASCADE will continue its campaign against illicit trade taking along all stakeholders in this activity, and thanked Minister Etela Rajender for his continuous support to FICCI’s initiatives.

The event witnessed enthusiastic participation of all the stakeholders present in the seminar, including representatives the government and enforcement agencies, consumer activists, the media personnel, and the industry and legal experts. Over 190 people attended the seminar that saw intense interaction with delegates demonstrating an active interest in the issue. The program concluded with a consensus that to mitigate this global risk, both the public and private sector decision makers needed a firmer understanding of the problem, the nature of its impact on the country’s economy, and a clearer understanding of the conditions that enabled it.

Counterfeiting of products now big industry in India: Bengal minister

Counterfeiting of products have become a “big industry” in India that is impacting the consumers as well as the revenue earned by the governments, a senior West Bengal minister said here on Tuesday, urging the police and state agencies to be more vigilant to curb such practices.

“Counterfeiting has become a very big industry. Products like tea and cigarette of all the big brands are being counterfeited. I do not know whether the government of India is focussing on this matter because it is impacting the revenue, particularly in the segment of indirect taxes.

“Also the consumers are unknowingly using bad quality products while paying for big brands,” state Consumer Affairs Minister Sadhan Pande said at a Conference on Combating Counterfeiting and Smuggling, organised by Ficci CASCADE (Committee Against Smuggling and Counterfeiting Activities Destroying the Economy) here.

https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/counterfeiting-of-products-now-big-industry-in-india-bengal-minister-118060501145_1.html

Seminar on Combating Counterfeiting and Smuggling- An Imperative to Accelerate Economic Development, Kolkata

5/6/2018 | The Lalit Great Eastern, Kolkata

FICCI CASCADE with a view to engage all relevant stakeholders like government representatives, enforcement agencies, excise and customs, consumer activists, media as well as industry and legal experts, and to sensitize them to fight against counterfeiting and smuggling organized a seminar in Kolkata on “Combating Counterfeiting and Smuggling – An Imperative to Accelerate Economic Development” on June 5^th 2018. The seminar brought experts from different disciplines of life under one roof to raise the concern over the growing illicit trade and to create large-scale awareness among the impacted segments of the society.

Counterfeit trade has attracted considerable attention among trade associations, government and enterprises. Therefore, to support the cause, seminar witnessed huge participation of over 100 delegates who were very enthusiastic to fight this menace. Mr. Mayank Jalan, Chairman, FICCI – West Bengal State Council & CMD, Keventer Agro Ltd. in his welcome address highlighted that counterfeiting and smuggling adversely impacts industries, consumers, government and economies as a whole. It is imperative to understand the need for safeguarding the rights of legitimate industry in developing competitiveness in various sectors of the economy.

Shri Sadhan Pande, Minister in Charge, Consumer Affairs Department, Government of West Bengal, and chief guest at the meeting stated that counterfeiting is a big issue in India which is affecting our revenues particularly the indirect taxes. In the state of West Bengal, minister cited examples of counterfeit products such as Tea, Cream etc which were finding its way to the retail market owing to their low prices. He also observed, among other products, illicit trade in cigarettes was also a concern area in the state. Hon’ble Minister thanked FICCI CASCADE for taking the lead in fighting this problem. He extended his support to FICCI and welcomed suggestions from industry in addressing this challenge.

FICCI CASCADE advisor Mr. P C Jha & Former Chairman, Central Board of Excise and Customs, pointed out that counterfeiting was the biggest scourge impairing the world’s economy, accounting for almost 10% of global trade. Elaborating on the magnitude of the problem, Mr. Jha informed that in India the total loss to the government in respect of just seven items, as per a FICCI CASCADE study estimate, had increased steeply from Rs. 26,190 crore to Rs. 39,239 crores. He also stated that counterfeiting was the number one crime of 21^st century, putting at stake brand owners’ reputation, causing severe loss of revenue to the public exchequer, and posing a serious threat to the security – nationally and internationally.

The seminar also included a panel discussion on ‘Countering the Menace of Counterfeiting and Smuggling – Resolutions and Solutions’, where experts from related areas discussed the issue at hand. Mr. Deep Chand, Advisor, FICCI CASCADE and Former Special Commissioner of Delhi Police, in his address said “8 to 15% of global GDP is impacted due to illicit trade and criminal activities. It is time that we, as a national and as a part of the global economy, call for stern and resolute counterstrike force against such ill-intentioned activities”.

Mr. Deepankar Aron, Additional Director General, DRI, Zonal Unit Kolkata underlined that smuggling has more deleterious impact on economy. To counter them, DRI exposes fraudulent schemes and takes initiative to build synergy between DRI, police, industry bodies and judiciary. He informed that his department has seized counterfeit and smuggled products worth Rs. 350 crores apart from gold and drugs in the last financial year. “Seizure of tobacco products worth Rs. 110 crores have been made. Also, 110 kgs of gold worth Rs. 430 crores have been seized in the last one year”, he added.

Mr. Shrihari Pandey, IPS, Special Superintendent of Police, West Bengal in his address requested people to be proactive and inform the police on encountering fake products. He also informed that the police department regularly team up with officials from different enforcement agencies to curb the cross-border and domestic flow of counterfeit goods.

Mr. Gautam Banerjee, Principal Associate Patent & Trademark Attorney, Khaitan & Co. shared the magnitude of the problem. He highlighted that the counterfeiting business cost around Rs. 600 crore to the music industry and 20% of medicines in India are fake. He further added that counterfeiting has also led to loss of 8 lakh jobs annually.

Mr. Bibhav Pradhan, Regional Legal Manager East, Hindustan Unilever Ltd. emphasized on the help of IPC provisions, copyright infringement laws, court orders and police to combat counterfeiting and smuggling. He stressed on the need of awareness and advocacy to counter smuggling and counterfeiting.  “Our main focus is on anti-counterfeiting initiatives, we need to understand this socio-economic problem and awareness must be our priority”, said Captain Shakil Ahmed, Senior General Manager Corporate affairs, Diageo India.

Ms. Mala Banerjee, President, Federation of Consumer Associations, West Bengal said that counterfeiting and smuggling continue to thrive globally due to the weakness of the consumers desire to acquire branded products at low cost and the lack of awareness adds to this menace. She emphasized on discarding the fake products and to take a pledge and work towards the common aim.

Mr. Harish Agarwal, Co-Chairman, FICCI – West Bengal State Council & Partner, Ernst & Young LLP in his concluding remarks proposed thanks to the Hon’ble Minister for his continuous support to FICCI. In his remarks he said that the problem of counterfeiting is estimated at $600 billion a year. Product counterfeiting has grown over 10,000% in the past two decades and continues to grow.

The seminar witnessed vigorous interaction with delegates demonstrating an active interest in the issue.

It ended with a common view that the problem of counterfeiting and smuggling is multifaceted and complex and need to be discussed time and again, with government, to emphasize on effective and adequate laws and enforcement; increasing engagement with the industry and most importantly creating awareness in the society to curb illicit trade. The seminar was very well received by all stakeholders and was widely covered by media.

R36.5-M smuggled goods confiscated

The Bureau of Customs (BoC) seized yesterday some R36.5-million smuggled goods such as agricultural products, ukay-ukay, and cigarettes.
The smuggled items were discovered inside seven container vans during spot inspection of alerted shipments at the Manila International Container Port, Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapeña said in a press briefing.

The containers from China which arrived on separate dates at the Manila International Container Port were declared to contain non-woven interlining and women interlining, industrial fur, fresh apple, and household ware.

However, Lapeña confirmed that the actual contents found by the Customs authorities are very different from what was declared. A total of 947 cartons of More cigarettes and 53 cartons of Marvels cigarettes, 950 boxes of Mighty cigarettes, boxes of apples mixed with onion, apples mixed with boxes of fresh carrots, and bales of ukay-ukay mixed with food without Food and Drug Administration (DFA) permit were uncovered.

http://tempo.com.ph/2018/05/25/r36-5-m-smuggled-goods-confiscated/