By Mayukh Goswami  (PNI)

 

Mangaldai : The hazards posed by counterfeit products such as FMCG, Pharmaceutical and packaged foods was highlighted at a capacity building seminar on combating counterfeit and illicit goods at Pragya Bhawan, Agartala in Tripura on Saturday .

According an information received,

Speakers at the event discussed various aspects of the counterfeit goods and illicit product problem which is causing losses amounting to thousands of crores and serious health hazards.

The meet – ‘Capacity Building Seminar on Combating Counterfeit and illicit Goods’ was organized jointly by Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (FICCI) and Finance Department, Government of Tripura.

The program was attended by officials of Excise Department of Tripura, Tripura Police and personnel of Border Police Force (BSF). Initiating the meet, Mr. Biswajit Chakrabarty, Director, FICCI – NEAC, described the role of FICCI in bringing together the stakeholders in one platform so as to address the menace of counterfeit and illicit goods in a consultative mode and suggest solution to the dual problem of economic loss as well as threat to public wellbeing.

Mr. Abhijit Saptarshi, IPS, Superintendent of Police, CID highlighted the new initiative named ‘Nasha Mukt Tripura’ and anti-drugs campaign by Tripura Police. He further emphasized on the importance of consumer awareness and public support to the government of enforcement excise laws.

Mr. Nagesh Kumar. B, IAS, Commissioner of Taxes & Excise and Jt. Secretary Finance, Govt. of Tripura expressed the daunting nature of the problem due to insufficient data. He highlighted that the government was working towards understanding the best practices of other states and develop an efficient system in Tripura.

Inspector General of Border Security Force (BSF), Mr. Hemant Kumar Lohia, IPS said the market for fake and smuggled products is one of the biggest challenges for all stakeholders.  He invited the corporate houses to look into their pricing mechanism of products which are in high demand and also and ensuring availability of products so that there are no gap in supply and demand.

Congratulating FICCI for organizing the program, Mr. M. Nagaraju, IAS, Principal Secretary, Finance, Govt. of Tripura said that counterfeiting business generates a lot of illegal money which is later used to finance terrorist activities globally. He coaxed FICCI to take lead to work with the industries and public together so that the ethical balance between profit and quality of human life is maintained.

Capt. Shakeel Ahmed, representing Diageo and the CASCADE committee of FICCI informed the participants that that around 65% people buy counterfeit goods knowingly. Terming counterfeiting a “menace,” he said counterfeiting has resulted in economic losses and yet there was a demand for cheaper products. The counterfeit products are mostly controlled by criminal syndicates and are also of poor quality. Thus, consumer awareness and capacity building of government officials is of paramount importance.

Addressing the participants, Mr. Gurpawan Singh, Managing Director of IIRIS, an international knowledge company, informed that counterfeit business has become very organized in India and is causing losses beyond 44% to the economy and industry.

Mr. Sarat Chandra Sinha, Nodal Officer Assam Excise Online Project and Mr. Sailendar Pandey, PRO to Hon’ble Minister for Excise, Forest & Fisheries Govt. of Assam described the initiatives taken by the Assam Government which have driven the revenue growth of Assam Excise department from Rs. 7000 Crore to Rs. 17000 Crores in just two years under the new leadership in Assam.

Others prominent persons present at the occasion include Ms. R. Saraswati, Addl. IGP of Tripura Police, Mr. Subhro Banerjee, Member FICCI-NEAC.

Based on the discussions, it was decided that a set of recommendations will be submitted to the Government of Tripura regarding the best practices followed elsewhere in the country, so that the same may be considered for Tripura.