CAIT organises national traders' meet; FSSA, FDI in retail discussed

Saturday, May 12, 2012 08:00 IST 
Akshay Kalbag, Mumbai


The two-day national convention of trade leaders, organised by the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), commenced on May 10, 2012 in New Delhi.


 According to Praveen Khandelwal, secretary general, CAIT, “A nationwide campaign was launched to address issues pertaining to the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA), 2006; foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail; single-point goods and service tax (GST) in India and delivery-based trading in forward exchanges.” An eleven-member national committee was formed to conduct the campaign.
Those who attended the conference also agreed to start a signature campaign to tackle the aforementioned issues. Once a sizeable number of signatures are collected from all over the country, the same will be submitted to the prime minister. Memorandums will also be submitted to members of local self-governments; Members of Parliament (MPs), Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) and chief ministers (CMs) at the state level and the senior leaders of every political party.

“We demanded that retail trade in India should become a topic of priority for the Centre and the state governments. Over 5 crore trading establishments are conducting their business activities in the retail industry, and more than 22 crore people earn their livelihood from it,” Khandelwal told FnB News via e-mail, adding the trade leaders expressed their unhappiness about the neglect of the retail sector by the governments.

CAIT challenged the merits of the FSSA and its rules and were dismayed about the provisions stipulating that such entities as places of worship (such as temples and gurudwaras); transporters; warehouse-keepers; landlords and people delivering food and other items by distribution vehicles must also obtain licences. 

“We have sought necessary clarifications from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in this regard, and drew the government's attention towards the turnover limit of Rs 12 lakh for the cottage and small industries, which contravenes the definition of cottage and small industries under the Small-scale Industries (SSI) Act,” stated Khandelwal, adding that a number of provisions of the Rules and Regulations supersede those of the Act, which is a legal infirmity. CAIT stressed on the need for a careful study and reconsideration of these.