‘Counterfeit goods account for 5 % of global trade’
Counterfeit/smuggled goods are visibly impacting the economy by generating black money, said PC Jha, Advisor, FICCI CASCADE (Committee against smuggling and counterfeiting activities destroying the economy).
The markets are getting inundated with cheap quality goods available at a lower price, thus decimating sales of genuine manufacturers. This grey market adversely impacts the economy, he said at a seminar organised by it in Hyderabad today. Smuggling has become a low-risk, high reward field, Jha said. The penal code is not strong enough to deal with smuggling and the court takes too much time in prosecuting, he added.
Jha called for public awareness campaigns to combat the menace. “For every product you buy, ask for a bill. It solves 80 per cent of the problem,” he said.
“The most dangerous form of counterfeiting occurs in pharmaceutical products, said Gowra Srinivas, President, Ftapcci. Hospital patients often end up getting counterfeit medicines that are hazardous to health, he added.
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