FICCI CASCADE Seminar on Curbing Counterfeiting and Smuggling – An Imperative for Indian Economy-JAMMU & KASHMIR
13/9/2012 | Srinagar
The 3rd consultation was organised in Srinagar in collaboration with Kashmir Chambers of Commerce and Industry focusing on the growing link between counterfeiting, smuggling and crime.
Inaugurated by his Excellency, Shri N N Vohra, Governor, Jammu and Kashmir; the seminar was gracedby other dignitaries including the Hon’ble Minister of State Science and Technology Mr. Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi; Justice (Retd) Mr. B A Kirmani, President State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission. In his welcome address Mr. Abdul Hamid Punjabi, President, Kashmir Chambers ofCommerce, cited examples of Kashmiri handicrafts, paper mache products and walnut woodhandicraft industry which are being adversely affected. He further enlightened the gathering on theseverity of the issue and its impact. He emphasized that there is a need to curb this menace and eachone of us have to take a collective stand and work towards formulating stringent policies.
Mr. Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, Minister for Science and Technology and Information Technology, raised concerns about counterfeit goods as they are not only harmful for the consumers but for thegovernment as well. The revenue of the government is zero as the manufacturers of such goods don’tpay tax. This black money is used for other illegal works such as terrorism and other unlawful activitieswhich pose threat to the nation. Talking about the magnitude of the problem it was informed that Asiais the largest producer of counterfeit goods while 70% of such items come from China. It was emphasized that the law enforcement agencies must act stringently to stop this menace.
His Excellency, Shri N N Vohra highlighted the problems faced by the artisans, manufacturers of handicrafts, saffron, walnut, shawl and carpet weaving industries in Jammu and Kashmir. His Excellency raised concerns vis-a-vis introduction of fake currency by the neighbour country to destroy our economy and huge un lawful funds which accrue from smuggling, fake currency, black money and hawala transactions that are being utilized by organized crime groups and mafia networks to foster illegal trade in arms and drugs and fund terrorist activities. He stressed upon buying and selling onlygenuine. He congratulated FICCI-CASCADE and Kashmir Chambers of Commerce for joining hands to deliberate on such an extremely important problem and expressed the hoped that the Seminar will culminate with a set of recommendations which would go a long way in curbing counterfeiting, smuggling and other organized crime.
Mr. Tobby Simon, President, Synergia Foundation mentioned that the terrorist groups like Al- Qedaare now raising money by indirectly getting into the counterfeit trade. The terrorist organizations arenow getting involved in trading in the counterfeit products instead of narcotics, they eitherthemselves or through some agents get in touch with the retailer or the middlemen lure them bymonetary benefits and make them sell the counterfeit product and hence destroy the supply chainintegrity. The money which is generated through this chain is then utilized by them in their terroristactivities causing a threat to national security.
FICCI-CASCADE Seminar on Curbing Counterfeiting and Smuggling – An Imperative for Indian Economy, UTTAR PRADESH
25/7/2012 | Lucknow
The 1st consultation at Lucknow on July 25th, 2012 flagged off the nationwide awareness building campaign to highlight the issues on the growing menace of counterfeit and smuggling. The seminar was presided by Dr.Arbind Prasad, Director General, FICCI, Shri DilipAwasthi, Resident Editor, Jagran Group, Shri Ajay Dixit, Commissioner- Customs, Lucknow (UP), Ms.Kalpana Reddy, First Secretary for Intellectual Property, US Embassy, New Delhi, Shri Vijay Acharya, President, Bharat Jyoti Foundation joined the consultation.
The objective of the event was to spread awareness about the menace of smuggling and counterfeiting. The event further helped sensitize the various stakeholders in the state of U.P on the problem of smuggling and counterfeiting and how it is not only affecting the economy but also poses a serious threat to our lives.
The seminar witnessed enthusiastic interaction where the delegate present demonstrated active interest in the issue concerned. Mr. Harsh Chawla, Trader, informed the gathering with the fact that the magnitude of the problem of counterfeiting in U.P. is high. Cigarettes are sold in the market for Re. 1 while the current tax structure does not allow any legal product to be sold below Rs. 250. The increasing volume of illicit trade encourages entry of organized criminals and leads to generation of huge black money. Issues have been raised in the past by media but manufacturing units are still running and evading huge amount of taxes.
Another delegate Mr.Aslam Ahmed, Advocate, Corporate Laws and IPR Laws brought the problem of distress on taxation between Government and public under notice. Mr. Dixit, Commissioner – Customs, Lucknow further added that implementation of IPR Act does not entail any revenue rather it is to avoid the sufferings of the economy. Mr.Jha, Advisor FICCI CASCADE emphasized on the role of the media to spread awareness among the public and taking the problem of consumers ahead
Another delegate from Unilever put forward a question on the seizures by customs stating that the seizures are more in Southern and Western part of country than in North and how to fill the gap between the import authorities and the companies. Commissioner of Customs welcomed information from companies which could help them detect counterfeit products.
Several suggestions were given by the delegates like disparity of taxes must be avoided by the Government to reduce smuggling; awareness must be spread among the consumers about the importance of cash memo and also manufacturer must come up with scheme for the consumers to detect counterfeit products. FICCI CASCADE should initiate a National helpline to register the cases of illicit trade. Also, Economic Court must be established as judges are reluctant to hear cases of economic offences.
CUSTOMS OFFICERS TRAINING, Delhi
02/07/2012 | Delhi
FICCI CASCADE conducted training program to sensitize and share information with the customs officers to detect and distinguish counterfeit products from the originals at Delhi, Mumbai, Chennaiand Bangalore
Samples of right holders/ brand owners and counterfeit/s were exhibited in the training workshops.Training was imparted on the methods of identification to detect and distinguish originals from counterfeits. Certain instances were narrated where the right owners have been successful in restricting counterfeit goods coming into the market.
Lear More
World Anti-Counterfeiting Day,2012, New Delhi
13/6/2012 | FICCI, Federation House, New Delhi
FICCI-CASCADE organised a one day seminar on Developing a Pro-active Strategy to Curb Counterfeiting to commemorate the World Anti-Counterfeiting Day 2012 on the 13th of June 2012.
Mr.PankajAgrawala (IAS), Special Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs inaugurated the seminar. He found the efforts of FICCI-CASCADE to take awareness against counterfeiting to the next generation as a necessary step in the fight against counterfeiting as attitudinal change towards counterfeit goods can best ensure the victory in the war against counterfeiting. He also challenged the industry to think more of the consumer and be innovative and give consumer value for money to address the demand side factors stoking the problem of counterfeit goods.
Earlier, welcoming the Chief Guest and the participants, Mr. Anil Rajput, VP, Corporate Affairs, ITC Ltd said “People should get the message that buying counterfeit products is damaging to the economy. The best way to do this is to make the customer realise the impact of buying a fake product,” said Rajput. On the sidelines of the seminar, an exhibition of the paintings of school children on the theme of “Fighting Counterfeit and Smuggling” was laid out. A catalogue book using some of these works was also released on this occasion. The event saw the participation of over 150 people.
The seminar had a coherent agenda with panel participation from industry leaders on the forefront of implementing anti-counterfeiting initiatives, one of the most active international industry bodies onthe subject, relevant government functionaries and the academia. Representatives of ITC, Microsoft, Hindustan Unilever, Maruti Suzuki, Castrol, Tata Motors, Hewlett-Packard, KPMG, ICC-BASCAP, GS1 India, DuPont, Department of Customs, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, University of Delhi, International Trademark Association (INTA), Indian Institute of Foreign Trade and Economic Offences Wing of Delhi Police were on panel of the various sessions. The participant list was representative of the major stakeholders on CASCADE’s agenda. It included Toyota, Ford, Pfizer, Havell, Abbott Nutrition, Deloitte, Procter & Gamble, TATA Motors, Philips etc.
World Anti-Counterfeiting Day,2012, New Delhi
13/06/2012 | FICCI, Federation House, New Delhi
FICCI-CASCADE organised a one day seminar on Developing a Pro-active Strategy to Curb Counterfeiting to commemorate the World Anti-Counterfeiting Day 2012 on the 13th of June 2012.
Mr.Pankaj Agrawala (IAS), Special Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs inaugurated the seminar. He found the efforts of FICCI-CASCADE to take awareness against counterfeiting to the next generation as a necessary step in the fight against counterfeiting as attitudinal change towards counterfeit goods can best ensure the victory in the war against counterfeiting. He also challenged the industry to think more of the consumer and be innovative and give consumer value for money to address the demand side factors stoking the problem of counterfeit goods.
Earlier, welcoming the Chief Guest and the participants, Mr. Anil Rajput, VP, Corporate Affairs, ITC Ltd said “People should get the message that buying counterfeit products is damaging to the economy. The best way to do this is to make the customer realise the impact of buying a fake product,” said Rajput. On the sidelines of the seminar, an exhibition of the paintings of school children on the theme of “Fighting Counterfeit and Smuggling” was laid out. A catalogue book using some of these works was also released on this occasion. The event saw the participation of over 150 people.
The seminar had a coherent agenda with panel participation from industry leaders on the forefront of implementing anti-counterfeiting initiatives, one of the most active international industry bodies on the subject, relevant government functionaries and the academia. Representatives of ITC, Microsoft, Hindustan Unilever, Maruti Suzuki, Castrol, Tata Motors, Hewlett-Packard, KPMG, ICC-BASCAP, GS1 India, DuPont, Department of Customs, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, University of Delhi, International Trademark Association (INTA), Indian Institute of Foreign Trade and Economic Offences Wing of Delhi Police were on panel of the various sessions. The participant list was representative of the major stakeholders on CASCADE’s agenda. It included Toyota, Ford, Pfizer, Havell, Abbott Nutrition, Deloitte, Procter & Gamble, TATA Motors, Philips etc.
Hum Kishore Festival 2012 – Grand Finale, New Delhi
04/03/2012 | FICCI Auditorium , Tansen Marg , New Delhi
Hum Kishore Festival 2012, an art and cultural festival was organized in the National Capital Region On the theme “Fight Smuggling and Counterfeiting. Modern day youth are prolific users of networking and communication tools and an idea planted in their minds can become an instrument of change. The joint campaign was organised with Urivi Vikram Charitable Trust to inspire the youth to be socially responsible citizens. Over ten thousand students belonging to various schools in the NCR participated in 14 different competitions as part of the festival including skits, dance, music debate, elocution, painting and other creative disciplines showcasing their talents and highlighting the menace of counterfeit and fake products in society.
INDIAN WOMEN PRESS CORP CONFERENCE, New Delhi
29/2/2012 | New Delhi
The members of FICCI-CASCADE interacted with members of media to update them on the various activities being undertaken by the committee to deal with the menace of counterfeit, fake and smuggled goods.
With the growth of India’s economy and recognition of Indian brands in the world, new challenges have emerged. The un-hindered growth of counterfeit, fake and smuggled goods is one of the major challenges facing the industry today. This problem is not only hurting the integrity of individual brands but is also having an adverse impact on “Brand India” in the world market.
Highlighting the extent of the problem during his welcome address, Mr. Anil Rajput, Chairman, FICCI CASCADE and Senior Vice President-Corporate Affairs, ITC Ltd. stated:
“We aim to encourage every citizen to be a “CASCADER”. We firmly believe in the philosophy that one should “catch them young”. The youth of the country are the leaders and policy makers of tomorrow. CASCADE is soon to launch another wave of this movement amongst the young and adolescent members of the society in the new academic year 2012-13.
To achieve all this, the enforcement agencies, namely Customs and Police, have to further augment their field formations throughout the country for dealing with the problem of smuggling and counterfeiting that has become a matter of National concern today. Asynergy among various departments of the government be it Customs and Excise, Ministry Of Food, Ministry of Consumer Affairs or Home Ministry is necessary to tackle this menace and make consumers aware of the problem. We call upon the media to extensively covert the incidence of counterfeiting and suggest how we can further work in sync with the mediato curtail this menace.”
FICCI CASCADE “JAGO GRAHAK JAGO” Campaign, NCR Delhi
02/02/2012, New Delhi
FICCI CASCADE in collaboration with Ministry of Consumer Affairs launched a creative campaign against smuggled and counterfeit products under the umbrella of “JAGO GRAHAK JAGO”. FICCI CASCADE first campaign with the ministry took off on 2 Feb 2012 which had series of public welfare messages. The ad campaign was published in 160+ different newspapers in English, Hindi &vernacular.
The creative campaign stresses on the negative socio-economic impact of counterfeiting and smuggling and the ill effects of this illicit trade on the consumers. This campaign has now been further published on 11 May, 2013 in 250+ newspaper across the county with a positive message -“Buy Genuine”.
On June 5th, 2013, Shri Pankaj Agarwala, Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution also unveiled the campaign in the form of hoardings in key locations within NCR Delhi.
Launch of Committee Against Smuggling and Counterfeiting Activities Destroying the Economy (CASCADE), New Delhi
18/1/2012 | FICCI Federation House, New Delhi
In the recent past India’s economic growth story has attracted world’s attention bringing new challenges for thedomestic economy. One of the challenges currently faced is the growing illicit trade in counterfeits, pass offs andsmuggled goods. These activities are also threatening brands not only in every region of the country but acrossthe globe. Contraband and counterfeit products hurt the integrity of the brand, further diluting the brandowner’s reputation. This not only results in erosion of sales of the legitimate product but further [CASACADE]sonto affect the consumers in the form of health and safety hazards.
With the above insight the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) took the initiativeto dedicate a forum by establishing the Committee Against Smuggling and Counterfeiting Activities Destroyingthe Economy – CASCADE on 18th January, 2011 at FICCI Federation House, New Delhi.
Mandate
Awareness Generation
- To put the issue of smuggled, contraband and counterfeit products high on the social agenda
- To generate and spread awareness on the hazardous impact of smuggled, contraband and counterfeit
Products
- To interact with the law enforcement authorities to emphasize on the importance of continued awareness and seriousness of the impact of smuggled and counterfeit goods
- To achieve a high “issue recall” on anti-smuggling and anti-counterfeiting in the minds of consumers and tosensitize the supply chain personnel towards the harm that smuggled, contraband and counterfeitproducts cause and to emphasize the importance of their role in grappling with the social issue
Knowledge Management
- To engage in systematic assimilation and dissemination of enforcement techniques, procedures and strategies for the guidance of its members through various interactive events
- To commission research and propose law and policy reforms to Government and other relevant stakeholders through knowledge papers, report, studies on issues related to counterfeiting and smuggling
- To provide a platform for sharing the best practices followed globally for combating contraband, smuggled and counterfeit products
- To engage in capacity building activities for the benefit of law enforcement agencies and other CASCADE stakeholders including Judicial, Police and Customs Officers
- To tap into initiatives of various international fora such as ICC BASCAP, WIPO Advisory Committee on Enforcement, WCO and others to identify existing gaps in India and building synergies in collaborative mode
- To study and have full appreciation of the enforcement initiatives of developed countries as well as developing countries
Policy Advocacy
- To assist the Government in formulating its response to regional and multilateral agreements and model laws being proposed by international organizations such as INTA, WIPO, WCO etc
- To assist the Government of India in formulating its position in ongoing bilateral negotiations having an impact on enforcement issues related to counterfeiting and smuggling Networking
- To work in synergy with other foreign institutions and bodies working in the realm of anti-counterfeiting and anti-smuggling
- To identify and facilitate CASCADE stakeholders to network with legal services providers and investigators who have excellent relationships in the local law enforcement machinery and who have consistently delivered high yield counterfeiting raids across India
