Cigarettees worth Rs 20,000 confiscated in Margao
PANAJI
Officials of the Directorate of Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) on Tuesday confiscated imported cigarettes worth Rs 20,000 from a rickshaw during their surveillance drives in Margao.
A team of officers headed by senior Food Safety officer Sanjyot Kudalkar conducted a surveillance drive at Margao to detect the availability of cigarettes in the market that failed to comply with requirements of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act 2003 (COPTA) and the amended Rules 2014.
According to the amended rules cigarettes being sold need to display specified health warnings that cover 85 per cent of the principal display area on the cigarettes packaging. Those that didn’t fit the category were confiscated as they did not bear any of the specified health warning as stipulated under the said COTPA Act, 2003 and the amended Rules 2014.
The stock of the imported non-complying cigarettes were confiscated from a rickshaw transporting the cigarettes at Margao, bearing vehicle registration No GA “ 07 “ F 0686. It is learnt that the rickshaw owner had procured the imported cigarettes from Hubli, Karnataka and were meant for distribution and selling to various retailers across the city.
Announcing the confiscation, FDA director Salim Veljee said, “The rickshaw vehicle was initially detained for verification and after obtaining their registration certificates documents as well as other vehicle ownership documents including the driving licence of the driver and was subsequently released under an undertaking bond and the stocks of the defective labeling imported cigarettes was confiscated.”
