GUWAHATI, Sept 30: The Guwahati Tea Auction Buyers Association (GTABA) has sought a complete overhaul of the Tea Act, 1953 and replacement of the Tea Board with a ‘Tea Promotion and Development Council’ working under the Union ministry of commerce and industry.
In a letter to the Union minister of state for commerce and industry, Anupriya Patel, the association stated that the Tea Board, formed under the Tea Act, 1953, has become redundant and that the need of the hour was to move the Tea Board from its current role of regulator and controller to an enabler and facilitator in helping the tea industry become self reliant.
“Dilution of controlling powers will also remove vested lobbying interests that try to influence decision making,” the association’s secretary, Dinesh Bihani wrote in the letter to the Union minister.
“GTABA feels that the Tea Board role should be that of development of the tea industry and promotion of consumption of tea, which is very low compared to other countries. If tea consumption grows, prices will automatically increase. The Tea Board should not intervene in the day-to-day business but facilitate ease of doing business,” Bihani stated.
“Some recent decisions of the Tea Board have already affected lakhs of small and medium tea traders across India and further they are imposing a new system where only the big players will be benefitted,” he stated.
Under the Tea Act, the Tea Board has enacted various licensing requirements such as: Tea Marketing Control Order, 2003, and the Tea Distribution and Export Control Order, 2005.
The association observed that these orders are heavily control oriented and place unnecessary controls and burden on buyers and exporters.
The GTABA urged the Union minister to look into the matter and examine the facts and ask the Tea Board about such orders which are removing the small and medium tea traders from the auction system.
“Given the current government’s policies, we submit that the tea industry would be better off without these ‘controls’ and exercise of the draconian powers by the Tea Board that the Tea Act, 1953, entrusts it. Turning to ground realities in implementation of the Tea Act, we find that the powers vested in the Tea Board have been arbitrarily applied over the years, without accountability,” Bihani stated.