Customs seize Chinese cargo with fake 'made-in-India' products
CHENNAI: Instances of spurious Chinese products making their way into India with fake "Made in India" labels are clearly on the rise. In thesecond such case in a month, Chennai Port Customs has seized a 40-feet container full of counterfeit products ranging from <http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS-City-Chennai-Customs-seize-Chinese- cargo-with-fake-made-in-India-products/articleshow/4787032.cms> cosmeticshttp://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/grey_loader.gif to mobile phone batteries, which came from Shekou port in China. They were shipped by Fei Peng Trading Ltd in China to MMS Euro, a Mumbai-based firm. The Mumbai firm promoters are now absconding, said Customs officials adding that this is the first consignment imported by the company through Chennai port. Only a month ago, Chennai Customs had seized two lakh pieces of counterfeit spark plugs that bore MICO company seal and the made-in-India tag. Similarly, Chinese-made spurious anti-malarial drugs Maloxine and Amalar - with "Made in India" labels were seized by Nigerian Government Drug Regulatory Authority in the first half of June. Chennai Port Customs commissioner C Rajan told mediapersons on Thursday that the latest consignment of contraband contained fake mobile phone batteries, holograms, cellphone covers of Nokia, fake mobile phone batteries of Samsung and a range of cosmetics and toiletries including skin naturals, face wash, Garnier gel, lipsticks from Revlon, skin moisturiser from L'Oreal and air fresheners from Yardley. In all, 28 different products were seized -- 1.87 lakh pieces of fake batteries and 1.26 lakh pieces of cosmetics and toiletries and none of them had batch numbers. "The market value of such a huge consignment, if they were original products, would be Rs 6 crore. But being fake ones, the importer would have marketed it for half the cost if they had missed our net," said Rajan. While the use of spurious mobile phone batteries could cause malfunctioning of phones and explosion while charging them, application of spurious cosmetic items may result in serious skin diseases like angioderma, psoriasis and allergic inflammation that could lead even to cancer. Rajan said the matter would be referred to the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence. "We will register a case under Customs Act and Intellectual Property Rights (Imported Goods) Enforcement Rules," he said. Customs officials had detained the container at Balmer and Lawrie's container freight station (CFS) in Manali in April based on suspicion. "We grew suspicious when a liner Tower Bridge declared in its manifest that a 40-feet container contained only cosmetics and toiletries. We instructed the CFS agent not to release it without our instruction. But to our surprise, even after 75 days, the importer did not turn up to file the bill of entry for the consignment. Perhaps he would have got information that we had detained the container. When there was no claimant, we opened it in the presence of the agent and witnesses. On verification with representatives of Revlon, Garnier and Nokia, we confirmed that they were all spurious items." While Garnier and L'Oreal products bore fake "Made in India" labels, other commodities mentioned places of manufacture as USA, UK, France, Hungary and China. Industry sources said frequent smuggling of huge volumes of spurious commodities from China with "Made in India" label could pose a serious threat to Indian manufacturers. Georgi Tharakan, associate director in charge of quality control in Revlon, told TOI, "This year alone, we have stumbled upon four such consignments. The previous three cases three full containers were reported at <http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS-City-Chennai-Customs-seize-Chinese- cargo-with-fake-made-in-India-products/articleshow/4787032.cms> Kolkata port. While our products cost Rs 500 to Rs 1000 per piece, spurious material is supplied at Rs 100 to Rs 150. It badly affects our market." P L Mishra, head of legal cell in Garnier, said, "Just two weeks ago, a small consignment of spurious Garnier products was seized at Chennai port itself. This year, we have had four such seizures one at Delhi airport, two at Chennai port and one at Mumbai Nava Sheva port. But all those consignments had only 250 to 500 pieces each. The present one is the biggest seizure so far." Both the companies have taken samples of the contraband for lab analysis. Nokia's trade complaints coordinator P Chandramani said, "Through a written letter we have informed the Customs officials that they are not genuine products." Regards Sivaram --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ ___________________________________________________________________ Welcome to Maa Vee Maa Kaa Nanbargal valai Kuzhu (Friendship Group)! This group is purely of the Youth, by the Youth and for the Youth. Utilize this group to post your views & messages. ___________________________________________________________________ To post to this Maa Vee Maa Kaa group, send your emails to [email protected] Regards, Owner, Maa Vee Maa Kaa. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
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