The Hindu Business Line : Upasi seeks norms for issuing certificate of origin

THE United Planters Association of Southern India (Upasi) urged the Government to frame specific guidelines for the issuance of a certificate of origin for merchant tea exporters.

Mr B.B. Medaiah, President of Upasi, told BusinessLine that the Association has written to the Commerce Ministry, the Tea Board and the various chambers of commerce on the issue.

"There is a need to ensure that the procedures for issuing the certificate of origin are streamlined. To this extent we have written to the Commerce Ministry with a specific request to follow certain procedures before issuing such certificates,'' the Upasi chief said.

Upasi has suggested the setting up of a technical committee, comprising a producer, buyer, broker and a Tea Board nominee to scrutinise and clear applications for certificate of origin.

It has also mooted that an exporter, along with the application for certificate of origin, give the source from where the teas have been procured along with supporting documents such as invoices. The association has further suggested that each application be submitted along with samples, which if required, be tasted by experts and analysed in a recognised laboratory.

"In the past there have been instances of false claims made by certain exporters obtaining certificates of origin as Indian tea for cheaper and sub-standard teas imported from other countries which has done extensive damage to Indian tea exports,'' he added.

While merchant exporters contend that the industry is no stranger to such a stipulation, as a producers' organisation, Upasi is apprehensive that there could be manipulations in obtaining the certificate of origin that could tarnish the image of Indian products in the long run.

The association has thus mooted immediate pre-shipment verification by the Tea Board of all exports to Iraq. It has also called for the Government to designate a single chamber of commerce in each port and city for this purpose.

Today a plethora of organisations, which include practically all the chambers of commerce in the country, have been authorised to issue certificates.

Tender documents floated by Iraq at the beginning of the year have clearly specified that the `origin of goods' must be the same as that of the suppliers country. In accordance with this stipulation, the exporters would have to produce a certificate of origin to the effect that the tea shipped is Indian tea.

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