A thriving organised market in counterfeit items, with Delhi assuming the central position, is driving an economy running into several thousand crores. INN went to check the spread of the market and discovered that skillfully- run establishments sell anything from cosmetic products, packaged items of common use, electronic appliances, computer accessories, auto parts mobile phone accessories and more making the National Capital the hub of counterfeit goods. They flourish because of lower costs but the investigation revealed that these goods find their way into the market and are often sold as genuine products at the MRP of a regular item.
Some markets where these goods are easily available and sold openly like any legitimate business are Gaffar Market, Sadar Bazar, Khari Baoli, Bhagirath Place, Nehru Place and Kashmere Gate. Gaffar Market has come to be known for counterfeit and smuggled mobile phones and accessories, cosmetic items and commonlyused electronic appliances. Sadar Bazar is a wholesale market in Old Delhi where fake packaged FMCG goods and cosmetic items can be bought from select shops. All have a regular clientele.
Kashmere Gate is one of the largest auto parts markets in the country. Some shops sell fake branded auto spares at one fifth the original price or less. Nehru Place is big computer accessories markets and one can get pirated software and fake hardware from there.
According to a report by industry body Assocham, the current market size of counterfeit products is ` 45,000 crore. Of this Delhi alone contributes nearly 75 per cent to the production of fake goods. The report indicates that besides being a big market for fake products, the Capital is the main transit point for the sale of such goods.
One dealer who admitted to selling fake cosmetic items said, We don’t sell these items to every trader. We have old and trusted traders from Delhi and outside.” On the price difference, he said, while a case of original talcum powder would ` 120, the fake one costs ` 50 or less. “ We sell it to the retailers at ` 55- 60. And, the retailer will sell it to the customers as a genuine product at the maximum price or a bit less,” added.
When asked about the packaging and appearance, he hesitatingly showed a bottle of a wellknown brand. Can you say that this is not an original bottle?” he asked. Sri Ram Khanna of Consumer Voice said counterfeiting is rampant. “There are two situations. In one case a consumer buys the fake item without being aware of it. In this situation he gets cheated as he is paying for the original. In the second case, there are counterfeit products which are available at lower prices.
Suppose, a mechanic tells you about the low quality auto part before fitting it in your vehicle. Here, you are not cheated as you are aware of this, but, the product is obviously of sub- standard quality.” Anil Rajput, chairman of Ficci- CASCADE, said that almost all packaged and non packaged items are being copied Delhi is the centre of the illegal business.
In most cases, people are being cheated as they are not aware that the products they are buying are fake ones. Once consumed, the result can be dangerous in case of fake products,” he added. Big companies like Philips India, Hindustan Unilever and Heinz India have raised an alarm this front and their complaints saw separate cases being registered with the Economic Offences Wing ( EOW) of Delhi Police last month.
Last year Delhi Police raided a store in Central Delhi area, seizing a huge stock of counterfeit cosmetics, including those labelled as Revlon, Ponds and Dove. The police action unearthed a fake packaging factory, bringing the focus on the need for secure packaging and labelling for cosmetics and pharma items in India.
Explaining the techniques adopted by the manufacturers, a police officer said, “ Nowaday, s the manufactures situated in Outer Delhi and northeast Delhi areas have started using advanced machines. To make it appear original, they also use computerised and digital machines to write prices, manufacturing dates and batch numbers on the packets. You can’t make out the differences.
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