Tea Board puts revised factory licensing guidelines on hold

Tea manufacturers in Coonoor can heave a sigh of relief as the Tea Board has put on hold the implementation of revised guidelines for granting No Objection Certificates (NOCs) and Registration Certificates (RCs) for setting up new tea factories and increasing existing production capacities.

businessline had reported that tea manufacturers in Coonoor had protested against the Board’s notification restricting fresh applications for setting up new tea factories.

Samaresh Mondal, Controller of Licensing, Tea Board, in the order dated November 6, said the revised guidelines would remain on hold until the Board completed an internal assessment of installed factory capacity vis-à-vis green leaf availability, or until further notice.

‘Don't create barriers’

Hailing the Tea Board decision to keep the revised guidelines on hold and undertake a further assessment of factory-installed capacity vis-à-vis green leaf availability, Coonoor tea manufacturers said government policies should encourage entrepreneurship rather than create barriers to new entrants or restrict healthy competition.

An enabling environment will allow aspiring entrepreneurs, particularly from tea-growing districts, to realise their dreams of setting up tea enterprises, return to their native places and invest in their local communities. This will bring fresh investments, modern technology and innovation into the industry, while improving manufacturing standards, tea quality and opportunities for small tea growers, they said.

As the Tea Board’s notification rightly highlights, the objective is to promote Ease of Doing Business and achieve India’s ambitious target of 2,000 million kg of tea production by 2030.

“We look forward to the Board’s continued support in creating progressive policies that encourage investment, strengthen the tea-growing communities and take the Indian tea industry to greater heights”, they said.

Coonoor tea manufacturers had warned that the proposed restrictions could undermine competition, discourage fresh investments and adversely affect thousands of small tea growers.

They argued that the guidelines had been introduced without consulting industry stakeholders and urged the Board to defer their implementation until their concerns were examined.