Nagpur Feb 4 Business
Bureau
Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), the apex body of
trading community has declared to launch a nationwide aggressive agitation
against Food Safety and Standards Act, if it is not deferred immediately by the
Union Government as the last date of obtaining registration or license under
the Act from the concerned Department is expiring on February 4, 2014. CAIT has
demanded the Government to defer the Act and constitute a Joint Committee of
officials and trade leaders to make and in depth study of the Act and to
recommend the Government necessary changes in the said Act. The continuation of
food trade without registration will attract fine of Rs 5 lakh and imprisonment
for six months. The Act is applicable not only on the traders but has wider
implications even on a common man as wherever the food items are served for
profit or even for non-profit motive which includes even religious places like
temples, Gurudwara, wedding, social function, meetings, conferences, seminars
etc. Further, Mahila Grah Udyog, cottage and rural industry, self employed
persons, fishermen, roadside vendors, hawkers, small and medium restaurants and
food places, farmers, tribal groups, honey bee collectors, slaughter houses,
small traders, traditional halwais and even the social service schemes like mid
day meals etc., of the Government will be under the purview of the Act. Even
the enterprises involved in processing, packagiing, storage, distribution,
imports or transportation will be liable to comply the provisions of the Act.
National Secretary General of the CAIT Praveen Khandelwal said that a CAIT
delegation has already submitted a detailed representation to Union Health Minister
Ghulam Nabi Azad during a meeting with him on January, 14, 2014. Though, Azad
has assured CAIT to defer the Act and to constitute a Joint Committee of senior
officials and CAIT representatives but so far no notification of deferment has
been issued although the last date expires on February 4, 2014 and such in the
absence of any notification of deferment so far, there was much panic among
trading community of the country. He said that CAIT has also taken up the issue
with Union Law Minister Kapil Sibal who has already had extensively discussion
with Union Health Minister Gulam Nabi Azad who is convinced that the Act needs
a re-look raised by CAIT. Even the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma
Swaraj and Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, Chairman of Public Accounts Committee of Lok
Sabha has already sent communications to Azad supporting the demand of
deferment of the Act raised by CAIT. Meanwhile, in the wake of forthcoming Lok
Sabha polls and to raise traders issues strongly and prominently, CAIT is holding
an All India Traders Convention on February 27 and February 28, 2014 at New
Delhi which would be inaugurated by Narendra Modi, Gujarat Chief Minister. CAIT
has also invited Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi and leaders of other
prominent political parties including BJP, Congress,Shiv Sena, CPI, CPM,
Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Rashtriya Janta Dal, Janata Dal (United),
AIADMK, DMK, Akali Dal, BJD, TDP etc. CAIT will present its Trader’ Charter and
will seek views of the political parties. The convention would discuss core
issues like multiple taxation system, archaic laws, acts and rules, harassment
and victimization at the hands of bureaucracy, absence of any national or state
level trade policy for traders, absence of any viable financial mechanism to
provide financial assistance to traders, Government policies to crush small
traders have become the order of the day and unfortunately those in power are
least bothered about this sorry state of affairs and have always taken the
trading community in a light manner. FDI in retail, FDI in retail in E-
commerce, absence of any viable financial mechanism for traders, Free Trade
Agreement with European countries and other nations, upgradation and
modernisation of existing retail trade are some major issues of concern of
traders.
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