The Department of Commerce has proposed to repeal decades-old laws on tea, coffee, spices and rubber – and to introduce new legislation to promote the growth of these sectors and create an enabling environment to businesses.
The ministry has sought input from stakeholders on the Spices (Promotion and Development) Bills, 2022; Rubber (Promotion and Development) Bill, 2022; Coffee (Promotion and Development) Bill, 2022; Tea (Promotion and Development) Bill, 2022.
The public/stakeholders can send in their comments on these four bills by February 9 this year.
In four separate memoranda, the Department of Commerce said it was proposing the repeal of the Tea Act 1953; Spice Board Act, 1986; Rubber Act 1947; and the Coffee Act 1942.
“It is proposed that” these laws be “repealed and new legislation enacted to reflect current realities and objectives,” according to the bills, posted on the Commerce Department’s website.
He said the main reason for proposing the repeal of the Tea Act is that there has been a paradigm shift over the past decade in how tea is grown, marketed and consumed. , which requires an amendment to the existing law.
”The legal regime should be able to address several areas of the modern functions of the tea board, namely production support, quality improvement, tea promotion and skills development of producers Some tea. Many of these activities were originally not included in the remit of the tea board, but must now be incorporated into its functions and powers,” he added.
According to the Spices (Promotion and Development) Bill 2022, there is a need to enable the Spice Board to provide focused attention across the entire spice supply chain.
Given the emerging food quality and safety requirements in the spice sector and the modern applications of spices in nutraceuticals and natural colors, it is essential to direct research support towards the spice industry to address these aspects, says the bill.
“Furthermore, some of the never-used/redundant provisions of the law should be removed and the offenses should be decriminalized to make it easier to do business in the spice sector,” he added.
Explaining the rationale for the proposal to repeal the Rubber Law, the bill states that in recent years, there have been widespread changes in the industrial and economic scenario, particularly with regard to development. rubber and related sectors.
“Therefore, it has become imperative to remove archaic provisions, create an environment conducive to smooth conduct of business, reorient the functions of the (Rubber) Board with emphasis on upstream and downstream sectors and to help make the rubber industry world-class,'” said the Rubber (Promotion and Development) Bill, 2022.
The functions of the board must also be broadened holistically.
According to the Coffee (Promotion and Development) Bill, 2022, a substantial part of the existing law dealing with the pooling and marketing of coffee has become redundant/inoperative.
He added that the legal regime must also be able to address several areas of the modern functions of the Coffee Board, such as production support, research, quality improvement, coffee promotion and skills development of producers.
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