Stringent action taken by Tamil Nadu have resulted in reduction of smuggling: Minister

CHENNAI: R Sakkarapani, Minister for Food and Civil Supplies, Government of Tamil Nadu on Tuesday said, "Stringent actions by the state have reduced the smuggling of watches, gold, alcohol and Indian currency, to a considerable extent, but there's a lot that still needs to be done."

Addressing a seminar on 'Preventive Strategies to Combat Counterfeiting and Smuggling', organised by FICCI CASCADE, the Minister suggested to organize such awareness programs in educational institutions to involve the youth in this fight against illicit trade. He further urged FICCI CASCADE to propagate the problem of counterfeiting and smuggling on social media channels, newspaper and other promotional sources in order to make the general public aware of this alarming issue.

PC Jha, Advisor, FICCI CASCADE and Former Chairman, Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs said, "Illicit trade is a grave concern, it undermines the nation's economy, damages brand integrity, and most importantly affects health and safety of the citizens which needs to be addressed on an urgent basis." "During the last twenty years, the volume of the counterfeiting activity globally has increased 100 times and the size of trade is 10 per cent of the legal international trade (around 2 per cent of the world's overall economic output). The problem of illicit trade is much more serious than it is commonly perceived."

Deep Chand, Advisor, FICCI CASCADE and Former Special Commissioner of Police, New Delhi, emphasized on the need for consumers being continuously made aware of the detrimental impact of illicit products. Consumer awareness campaigns that explain how to differentiate a spurious product from a genuine product, to demanding a copy of the bill from the seller, along with the harmful consequences of buying illegal products vis a vis a genuine one, needs to be explicitly conveyed. Increasing the rule of law and enhancing effectiveness of penalties and sanctions is important to curb the mounting hazards of Counterfeiting and Smuggling, he added.

Other key speakers included Dr. G S K Velu, Chairman, FICCI Tamil Nadu State Council & CMD, Trivitron / Neuberg Group of Companies, Bhupesh Nagarajan, Co-Chairman, FICCI Tamil Nadu State Council & CMD, Indira Projects, Mahesh Kumar Agarwal, Additional Director General of Police, Chennai, G Ravindranath, Principal Commissioner, Chennai Customs and S Saroja, Executive Director - Consumer Advisory and Outreach Vertical, Citizen Consumer and Civic Action Group

(CAG).

The market for contraband and smuggled goods is thriving in India and is today one of the biggest challenges faced by Indian industry.