Impose duty on imported tea from Nepal, Darjeeling Tea Association urges Centre

darjeeling: Darjeeling Tea Association (DTA) has urged Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and Industries, Government of India, to impose import duty on Nepal tea to "save the Darjeeling tea industry."

In a letter to Goyal, DTA has written "Darjeeling Tea industry which produces 6.7 million kg of orthodox tea is reeling under the pressure from Nepal tea being allowed to be imported into India without any duty or regulation and is being sold as fake Darjeeling tea in the domestic market as also being re-exported out of India."

Easy influx of Nepal tea into India is destroying the domestic market. It also does not adhere to the provisions of Law of Food Safety and Standards Act 2006, Food Safety and Standards (Contaminates, Toxins and Residue) Act 2011 and other such relevant Acts, alleged the letter.

The Darjeeling tea industry being the first GI of the country as also the first PGI registered in Europe producing a limited quantity of orthodox tea of which 60% is organic in nature, is being drowned by substandard influx of Nepal tea, stated the letter. While tea exports of Indian tea attract 40% import duty in Nepal, Tea imports from Nepal attracts zero duty, stated the letter.

"We the members of this industry sincerely request the Government of India to kindly take appropriate action to save the industry, since the livelihood of 55000 directly engaged workers and their families are at stake, unless remedial measures like imposing import duty @40% on Nepal Tea and certain concessions as extended to agricultural sector is provided, failing which it would be too late for survival of this industry" claimed the letter.

"The annual production of Darjeeling tea has dropped from over 11 million kg, two decades back to the present 6 million kg , the industry is unable to support its 55000 permanent workforce" stated Sandeep Mukherjee, Principal Advisor, DTA.