Illicit trade, fakes burn cigarette firms’ revenue
India is fifth largest market of illicit cigarettes, says Euromonitor. Organised sector cigarette manufacturers, including the market leader ITC, are feeling the pinch of illicit trade in cigarettes in India, which has grown enormously. According to Euromonitor International, India is the fifth largest illicit cigarette market in the world. In fact, the overall market for illicit cigarettes in India is now estimated at around 18 per cent, of which approximately 70 per cent is excise evaded domestic manufacture. Consequently, the combined loss on account of illicit trade (illegal manufacture and contraband) is estimated to be in excess of Rs 6,000 crore. According to Tobacco Institute of India consumers are being forced to shift to cheaper and revenue inefficient forms of tobacco consumption, including illicit. As a result, not only are revenue collections being sub-optimised, but also, overall tobacco consumption is increasing. While cigarette consumption has come down 16 per cent (from 86 million kg to 72 million kg) between 1981-82 and 2011, consumption of non-cigarette forms has gone up 26 per cent (from 320 million kg to 403 million kg) during the period. “Independent market research indicates that, in India, whilst there is a fall in volumes of duty paid cigarettes by 4.4 per cent during the period 2005 to 2010, the duty-not-paid volumes grew by 49.3 per cent during the same period. India has now been recognised as one of the leading destinations for illegal cigarettes,” ITC’s latest directors’ report said. Not just cigarette makers, but independent sector analysts also pressed the panic button over illicit cigarette trade. Ritwik Rai, analyst at Kotak Securities said extreme high excise duty and VAT rate on cigarettes in India make smuggling a particularly attractive proportion. “Smuggled and local cigarettes are increasingly becoming a nuisance for the organised players,” said Ra
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Counterfeit luxury goods invade Chicago
Main PointsStatus-seekers don’t have to go to New York or Los Angeles to find luxury knockoffs. They can pick up counterfeit handbags, shoes, belts or sunglasses right here at flea markets, storefront shops, sidewalk stands, “purse parties” and, unwittingly, even high-end department stores.More than 100,000 fakes with a suggested retail value of more than $5 million were seized in the Chicago area during the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, according to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Office of Homeland Security Investigations, one of the federal agencies policing the counterfeit market. That, of course, is only what this one agency confiscated.Authorities seized 12 vanloads of bogus Louis Vuitton, Prada, Chanel and Burberry bags at Montana Charlie’s Flea Market in Bolingbrook in August. A Cicero woman was arrested a month earlier on charges of possessing more than 500 fake designer handbags worth in excess of $500,000. And last May two women from central Illinois were arrested after police discovered more than 15,000 brand-name knockoffs valued at $1.6 million. After pleading guilty, they were sentenced to prison for two and three years. “What people don’t realize is that Chicago is definitely the third-largest marketplace for the sale of counterfeit merchandise,” says Kevin Read, vice president of Edward R. Kirby & Associates, a private detective and criminal investigation firm in Elmhurst that is retained by several of the world’s premier brands to investigate
Lear MoreOfficial cautions against fake solar power items
People should be careful while buying solar power products as fake items have flooded the market. Buyers should ensure that the solar modules (or panels), home lights, lanterns, solar fans and the batteries they are paying for are worth the money as many people are being duped with low quality products. This was stated by Tarun Kapoor, joint secretary of the Union ministry of new and renewable energy, at the inauguration of a workshop on ‘Renewable energy and conservation of energy’ here on Thursday. According to him, if high quality solar power goods are used, every house in every village would have at least two lights in the next five to seven years. “While buying a solar module, customers should check its efficiency rate. Products with 19% efficiency are available in the market. However, items with 15-17% efficiency are common and available at reasonable rate,” said Kapoor.
Lear MoreTurkey ranks second in fake goods market
Turkey’s Registered Brands Association (TMD) aims to take action against counterfeit products as Turkey has the second-largest fake product market in terms of legal cases. Turkey has the second-largest market of counterfeit products in the world after China, in terms of legal cases, said Tahsin Özlenir, the president of TMD. Of the almost 8,000 suits to protect brands, 4,000 were filed by TMD.He said the fake products market value had increased from $500 million to $1 billion in Turkey in the last 10 years, adding that the volume in the world is around $350 billion, 17 percent of global trade. Özlenir said Turkey should take steps on this issue, he added. TMD’s goal is for police forces to pursue fake products ex-officio in order to evaluate instant notices effectively and to introduce stricter penalties for fake products through new regulations. However, TMD pointed out that new regulations are needed in the field of “parallel imports.” Özlenir said that particularly as e-commerce developed in Turkey, everyone has become able to buy goods from abroad and sell them. “Fake and original products are mostly mixed in this trade [e-commerce],” he said.
Lear MoreCounterfeit mobile goods a ‘serious problem’ in the UK
Case manufacturer OtterBox sets up fraud unit to tackle £2.3 billion market. Smartphone case manufacturer OtterBox has launched a new UK-based department to tackle the “serious problem” of counterfeit goods circulating in this country. According to Home Office figures, the counterfeit goods market in the UK is valued at £1.3 billion a year, and around £731 million a year in Ireland. OtterBox said products that infringe intellectual property (IP) are increasingly entering the EU market as a result of the growth of online shopping. The firm’s new ‘Brand Protection Department’, based in Cork, Ireland, will monitor online sales activities by working closely with online service providers such as Amazon and eBay to help shut down and “break the chain of supply of counterfeit products”.
http://www.mobilenewscwp.co.uk/2013/04/08/counterfeit-mobile-goods-a-serious-problem-in-the-uk/
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Counterfeit cigarette smuggler ordered to pay £30,000 compensation
A counterfeit cigarette smuggler who was jailed for a scheme has been ordered to pay £30,000 in compensation to the tax authorities. Douglas Allison was convicted of being in charge of a smuggling gang that evaded excise on 13 million cigarettes. HM Revenue and Customs said the 47-year-old, from Dumfries and Galloway, had evaded an estimated £2.7m in excise duty on the counterfeit cigarettes. Allison, of Agnew Crescent, Stranraer, was previously found guilty of fraudulent or attempted avoidance of excise duty as well as money laundering charge.At Maidstone Crown Court last September, Allison was jailed for six and a half years for the offences. On Monday, HMRC said a confiscation order for the seizure of £30,000 had been ordered. If Allison fails to pay it, he could face a further year and two months in jail, the tax authority said. John Cooper, assistant director of HMRC’s criminal investigation unit, said: “Allison was a criminal who was motivated purely by greed to make a huge profit at the expense of honest taxpayers, pocketing money that could have been spent on public services for the benefit of the whole community.”The sale of smuggled cigarettes is unregulated and these products are often sold to children and young people. Local shopkeepers also suffer when sales are lost to the criminals that trade in illicit goods.
Lear MorePiracy caused rs1 lakh crore loss to industry in 2012
Last year the US Government had called New Delhi’s Nehru Place as one of the top 30 notorious IT markets of the world that deal in counterfeited goods. Nehru place is just a fraction of total grey market which operates in India. According to a study commissioned by industry body Ficci on pirated goods, grey market thriving in places like Nehru Place; Richie Street and Burma Bazaar in Chennai; Manish Market, Heera Panna, Lamington Road and the Fort District in Mumbai; and Chandni Chowk in Kolkata thrives on a more than Rs1,00,000 loss to the legitimate industry.Setting aside monetary loss, this market is putting consumers life to threat and causing serious health hazards. Horrifyingly, around 20 per cent of total road accidents in India are either directly or indirectly attributed to usage of fake auto components. Thankfully, the original manufacturing segment is safe from counterfeits as their products are directly supplier to vehicle manufacturer. It’s the after-market which throws these scary figures. The use of counterfeits resulted in 25,400 deaths and more than 93,000 injuries during 2009. In monetary loss terms, users are paying for an additional 109 million litres of petrol and 8 million litres of diesel per annum.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/business/piracy-caused-rs1-lakh-crore-loss-to-industry-in-2012.html
Lear MoreThis is real: Many goods in Chennai are fake
Chennai is becoming a city of fakes. While Mumbai and Delhi churn out spurious goods ranging from cosmetics and mobile phones to automobile parts, Chennai is buying them in large numbers. Enforcers of Intellectual Properties Rights (EIPR), a non-governmental organization working with police forces across the country to prevent counterfeits, says Chennai is the second largest market for fake mobile phones (after Mumbai), third for adulterated cosmetics (after Mumbai and Kolkata), and fourth for spurious automobile parts (after Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata). There has been more than a three-fold increase in the number of counterfeit cases booked by the Tamil Nadu police. The number of seizures went up from 27 in 2011 to 85 in 2012. In the first two months of this year, there have been 31 cases. P C Jha, adviser, Ficci Cascade, recently told a gathering here that 25% of fast moving consumer goods in India were spurious. “Most of the fakes are sold in the grey market, but some enter supermarkets and retail stores too,” says Prateep V Philip, ADGP, CB-CID (crime).
Lear MoreWHEN FAKE BECOMES FAD Duplicate Mobile Phones Find Willing Buyers
Ritchie Street is the electronic hub of the city. The latest mobile phones, laptops, computer peripherals – you name it, they have it. But, have you paused to take a close look at the smart phone you got from there? It might be a fake. The type of fake product that floods the market depends on the demand, and experts say now it’s the time of electronic goods, especially mobile phones. In a street full of shops with genuine and fake goods, consumers can tell the difference only if they do their homework before purchase. Some knowingly buy a fake — why not, when you get a phone for 5,000 which is an imitation of something worth 32,000? Some others, however, are cheated by the sellers who claim it to be an original and price it closer. “I know mine is not an original Samsung Note. But, I don’t mind since it has all the features, and costs much less. I’ll be happy if it works for a year,” says a 25-yearold power plant employee. “The counterfeit market flourishes partly because of willing customers,” says Prateep V Philip, ADGP, CB-CID (crime). While afake mobile phone may not be a dangerous purchase, spurious cosmetics, automobile parts and electrical equipment can harm customers.
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Bangalore couple, 2 Nigerians held for selling fake cancer drugs
An Indian couple and two Nigerian nationals have been arrested for selling a senior citizen fake drugs for nearly Rs 12 lakh claiming it could cure cancer. The four approached the senior citizen through e-mail and lured him into believing that he can earn big money by selling the “drug” which was “pieces of wood mixed with hair-dye”. They collected Rs 11,95,000 from him, police said here. The Central Crime Branch (Women and Narcotics) squad arrested Revathi (20), her husband Muralidharan (22), both residents of Bangalore, along with Arebamen Abibu Obadan (35) and Joseph Nnamdi Emeanuwa (32), they said. The squad seized three laptops, as many mobile phones, a car and other valuables that the accused bought with the money. During investigation it came to light that the two Nigerians were overstaying in the country, as their visa had expired and had not been renewed. A local court has remanded the four in judicial custody. A search is on for the fifth accused and foreign national Mark Hebert who is absconding, police said.
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/314559/bangalore-couple-2-nigerians-held.html
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