The Indian automobile industry body SIAM today said there should be uniform standard for auto components for both original equipment makers (OEMs) and after sales to combat counterfeits in market.
The industry has been in talks with the Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways to tackle the growing number of counterfeit cases in the after market.
"We have spoken to the Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways. We have been asking for the same standards (Automotive Industry Standards) as applicable to OEMs, specially for safety critical components, to be applicable to after market as well," SIAM Director General Vishnu Mathur said.
He added that if a critical part of a vehicle is being replaced by a counterfeit during after sales, it has a major impact both on safety and environment.
Mathur was speaking on the sidelines of a function on 'Anti-Counterfeiting' jointly organised by Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA) and Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).
At present, Automotive Industry Standards (AIS) is applicable only on OEMs and not on after market.
"AIS standards are quite dynamic. They keep on changing considering the technological developments, so we would like to see the AIS norms to be applicable to the after market too," he said.
For the components sold in after market, the Bureau of Indian Standards is applied.
Joint Secretary in the Department of Heavy Industry Ambuj Sharma said there is a need for creation of a special cell for reducing the counterfeit cases.
The cell could be funded both by the government and industry, he added.
Sharma also asked the automobile industry to come out with a time bound roadmap to suggest ways to tackle counterfeits in the auto component sector.