Food Business Regulations will cause hardship to traders: CAIT

Traders body CAIT today said the trader community in the country will face immense hardship following the implementation of proposed acts, including the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Business) Regulations, 2011 in next couple of years.
National General Secretary of Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), Praveen Khandelwal addressing members of the Singhbhum Chamber of Commerce and Industries (SCCI) here said the last date for obtaining licence or ensuring registration for food businesses has been extended for six month (August 4, 2014) after a delegation of CAIT met Union health minister, Gulam Nabi Azad last week.

Khandelwal claimed that the regulation would not only affect the traders but society at large and alleged that the regulation, which was a copy in toto of a US law was being implemented under "pressure from foreign forces bend upon to make FDI effective in the country."
India did not have adequate infrastructure for the regulation. Hence, it is not possible to implement it unless the infrastructure was developed for it, Khandelwal said.
As per the regulation, even a road-side trader will have wear gloves, shoes, apron and cannot serve food bare hand to prevent contamination of food, Khandelwal claimed.

Khandelwal said CAIT will chalk out its future course of action and prepare a road map at its two-day National Convention at Delhi on February 27-28 to continue its struggle against the government move.

We have six crore traders and provide 25 crore jobs in the country, he claimed and demanded formation of a separate ministry to deal with the issues of traders community and a National Trade policy.
Khandelwal also demanded that all outdated laws related to the community be scrapped and constitution of a Review Committee to simplify the laws.
Besides, the road permit and entry form for inter-state trade be abrogated and the country be made a free trade zone, he suggested.

The CAIT general secretary also strongly advocated for a single point taxation system to promote trade in the country.