Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Oct 27: Patron, Chamber of Traders Federation, Neeraj Anand, met with Rohit Kumar Singh, Union Secretary, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Government of India, in New Delhi today.
During the meeting, Anand discussed various pressing issues related to legal metrology and consumer affairs affecting the trade sector in Jammu and Kashmir.
Anand expressed his concern over the harassment being faced by the traders in Jammu over minor issues, such as font size and colors on packaged commodities.
He highlighted that some overenthusiastic officers, who may not be well-versed in the law, often subject traders to unnecessary scrutiny.
Anand cited incidents where deliberate attempts were made to penalize traders and called for the issuance of an advisory to caution officers, preventing the seizure of goods for minor errors. He emphasized the need to categorize offenses based on their severity.
Furthermore, Anand requested the streamlining of the Jammu and Kashmir Single Window Online Industrial Portal for verification of weights and measures.
He pointed out that instead of improving the ease of doing business, human interference has increased, causing additional challenges for the business community.
Neeraj suggested holding responsible those implementing the process incorrectly and mentioned that small traders are forced to visit cyber cafes, fill out multiple forms, complete various formalities, and pay an additional service charge of Rs 500.
He also highlighted the discontinuation of awareness camps for the past two years, which should be resumed.
Anand stressed the importance of deploying trained staff in the field for weights and measures verification and expressed concerns about the unavailability of trade governing rules on the departmental portal.
Additionally, he urged the establishment of District Consumer Forums in each district with a full complement of members to promptly address consumer complaints.
Rohit Kumar Singh assured Anand that all the raised issues would be thoroughly examined, and prompt resolutions would be provided.
He reaffirmed the Government of India’s commitment to supporting the business growth by enhancing the ease of doing business and emphasized the department’s dedication to this objective.
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