The Tea Board of India today convened a virtual meeting with producers as well as manufacturers’ bodies to discuss if the Tea Act-1953 could be reviewed.

The objective of the meeting was to discuss the relevance of the Tea Act in controlling/increasing production, the ground realities regarding implementation of the Act, and the requirement of licensing mandated under the Act, sources said.

It is learnt that views put forth by the Tea Association of India (TAI) centered round the relevancy of the Act in the present context, particularly when most of the industries, even under the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act 1951, have gone through a process of deregulation and decontrol.

Asked to comment, secretary-general of the TAI, PK Bhattacharjee, said: “The preamble to the Tea Act 1953 has used the word ‘control’ of Union of India in the matter of cultivation and export. This aspect of ‘control is incongruous in the present day context where the keywords in place have been ‘deregulation’ and ‘decontrolling’ of various aspects of an industry.”

“This ‘control’ presently is exercised through various provision of the Tea Act, particularly Section 30 and Section 10 of the Act. While this section bestows the power of controlling ‘price and distribution’ of tea or tea waste with the enabling process of a notification fixed in respect of tea of any description specified therein, the maximum prices or the minimum prices which may be changed by a growers/manufactures, its efficiency to determine a minimum price for the grower/manufacturer has not been manifest,” Mr Bhattacharjee added.

He also said that the process of licensing needs a closer look, now that the government has repealed Section 12 to Section 16 of the Tea Act. Moreover, with almost 17 of the 51 Sections of the Act 1953 either being repealed
or suspended, the question arises as to the extent of review that can be done on the remaining portion of the Act, he said.

“The Tea Industry, being at the cusp of major challenges, a fresh and invigorating look at the provisions of the Act is called for,” sources said.