All products sold via any channel must state country of origin, demands traders’ body

In a letter to Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, CAIT says details about the composition of products must be inscribed and violations must invite penalty.

Representational image | Pedestrians and shoppers walk past stores on a street in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh | Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg

New Delhi: Amid India’s ongoing stand-off with China, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has written to Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal demanding identification of country of origin for all products sold in India via any channel, including the offline mode.

In its letter dated 29 June, the CAIT also asked the Union government to ensure that all products should also provide details of any value addition made to the product.

Last week, the government procurement portal GeM had made it mandatory for products to have inscriptions of country of origin. The move came after CAIT called for boycott of Chinese products in India following the violent face-off with China in eastern Ladakh on 15-16 June that resulted in the death of 20 Indian soldiers.

CAIT general secretary Praveen Khandelwal wrote in the letter Monday, “We request you not to limit this provision only for e-commerce but make it a mandatory provision for all the products that are sold in India either by e-commerce, offline shops, corporate showroom, direct selling or by any other method.”

The latest move has come amid public outcry over Chinese imports and the government’s call for self-reliance.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a push for ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ in his radio programme ‘Mann Ki Baat‘. He also read out messages from people resolving to make use of local products. He quoted one Rajani from Assam, who wrote that after the Ladakh clashes he had “not only resolved to buy only local but always be vocal for local”.

Mention value addition too

In its letter, the CAIT said details about the composition of the products — whether it is 100 per cent Made in India or imported or assembled in India by a combination of imported and Indian material — must also be inscribed.

The CAIT also demanded that products not carrying such descriptions should not be sold in the country, and in case of any violations, the manufacturer, producer, importer or marketer should invite penalty.

“We are of the considered opinion that provision of mentioning Country of Origin and Value addition will make the customers fully understand as to what they are purchasing and will obliviate all confusions,” wrote Khandelwal.

“Such a provision will also strengthen the ‘Make in India’ concept of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and will also demolish the unethical designs of certain sections to sell imported goods by wrongly labeling ‘Made in India’ on such goods,” he wrote.

Khandelwal added that since the Union government has begun the process of mentioning country of origin on products sold on its GeM, there should be no reason for delay from other e-commerce companies.

“Please ensure that on the pretext of implementation, the e commerce companies should not indulge in delaying or making plans to circumvent the decision,” he added.