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Nirmal D. Menon

Mumbai , April 8

SET up initially to counter the menace of counterfeit products in the FMCG industry, the Brand Protection Committee (BPC) of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has extended its focus to sectors such as textiles, auto ancillaries and lubricants.

Mr Bharat Patel, Chairman, Brand Protection Committee, FICCI said: "After witnessing good response to curbing spurious brands in the FMCG sector, we have extended our initiatives. We also plan to rope in the pharmaceutical industry soon."

Major Indian corporates, including Castrol and IBP from the lubricants sector, Reliance Textiles and Bombay Dyeing from the textiles sector, and Tata Motors and Mahindra and Mahindra from the auto ancillary sector , have enlisted on the committee.

There is a need to address counterfeiting as an industry issue rather than as a company issue. The auto ancillary and textile sectors face constant threat of counterfeiting, and cities such as Bhilwara in Rajasthan are major centres of spurious brands in textiles. Roping in many sectors suits the purpose of the committee to address the issue across industry, Mr Patel said.

Recently, BPC commissioned an ORG in-store audit of eight key categories for accurate measurement of losses incurred due to fake products. The categories covered were toothpastes, rubs and balms, coconut oils, glucose biscuits, fairness creams and lotions, detergent powders, shampoos and dry cell batteries. It found that the problem had spread to Delhi, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

BPC has followed a four-fold strategy to address this issue which includes measuring and publicising negative economic impact, open communication channels between the stakeholder to generate awareness and stimulate action, take action against the offenders and advocate more effective enforcement of existing laws and regulations.

Mr Sushil Jiwarajka, Chairman, Western Region Council, FICCI, said, "Our association with the Global Anti-Counterfeiting Group, an international forum to track the source of counterfeiting activities, has led to observations that suggest counterfeiting is an organised crime with a deep-rooted network. The problem has to be addressed before it's too late."

BPC had also commissioned a study with AC Nielsen across 30 companies, which ascertained an estimated loss of Rs 2,500 crore to company revenues and Rs 900-crore loss to Government revenues in unpaid excise duties, sales tax and octroi.

Besides demonstrative programmes like organising `high-visibility' destruction in Delhi of seized counterfeit products worth Rs 10 crore, the committee has lobbied with the State and Union Governments for better enforcement of IPR laws, which led to creation of special IPR cells in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

More Stories on : Brands | Industry Associations | Textiles | Automobile Components

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