Category: Articles

Drug resistance is under the spotlight these days, as World Antibiotic Awareness Week takes place from 12-18 November and the Wellcome Trust holds its Second Call to Action on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) on 19-20 November. You might have heard of the public health threat of AMR. But do you also know how falsified medicines can spread drug resistance?

We have created small infographics for you to share on your social media channels to make sure everybody stays safe from fake antibiotics and understands how they contribute to drug resistance. Because fighting #fakemeds means fighting AMR and both are serious public health threats that are everybody’s business.

Use our messages or write your own, download our images and post them on social media and tell us why you fight falsified antibiotics!

Make sure to tag @FightTheFakes and join the conversation using #fakemeds. We want to hear from you.

http://fightthefakes.org/updates/why-fighting-fake-meds-means-fighting-amr/?fbclid=IwAR0xH7UkrNLGLbP59JpXIUMglBWId67WbwxgvUPYylRGpJiE1glhiFzQhjk

E-commerce sites have made out life easier; you can shop anything while sitting at home in a few clicks. You can also purchase the products at the cheapest price and make the best use of festival sales, offers, and cashback. But there has been a huge disadvantage of shopping online and that is ending up with fake products; sometimes even on reliable sites like Flipkart and Amazon.

Both e-commerce giants were recently sent notices by Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) for allegedly selling “spurious and adulterated” cosmetics. Moreover, the Delhi High Court recently ordered e-commerce companies to ensure that none of the products being sold online is fake/counterfeit.

The Delhi HC order came on a suit filed by women’s luxury shoe brand — Christian Louboutin — which claimed that e-commerce site Darveys.com was selling counterfeit products in their name.

A survey by LocalCircles showed that at least one in 5 people get cheated while shopping online. Moreover, there are particular categories which are more like to be fake.

The survey, in which 27,000 people participated from 200 plus districts, said that the highest number of fake products are from fragrances & perfumes and cosmetics category. A whopping 35% of people said that the highest number of fake products are from fragrances & perfumes and cosmetics category.

22% said that they received fake sporting goods, while 8% said they received fake bags in the name of the brand.

Moreover, the problem is, the survey showed, that a whopping 70% people said that they had no way of finding out if the product they bought online was fake or counterfeit.

“It is quite concerning in the sense that the number and percentage of counterfeits being shipped could be much higher if consumers knew how to identify a counterfeit product,” LocalCircles said.

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https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/beware-these-products-most-likely-to-be-fake-if-you-are-shopping-online/1374540/lite/

इश्तेहारों की दुनिया
By Alok Suman, Motilal Nehru College

मैं जब भी आज का अख़बार खोलता हूँ,
मैं ख़बरों को हर कोने में टटोलता हूँ,
खबरों की जगहें भरी सी है लगती,
रंगों से, तस्वीरें सनी सी हैं लगती।
रंगीन कागज़ ,कलम अखबारों की दुनिया,
ये दुनिया है अब इश्तेहारों की दुनिया।

यहां चिप्स पैकेट में मिलती हवा है,
तबीयत को मिनटों में ठीक करती दवा है।
पेप्सी और कोला का ऐसा कहर है,
पी कर जीत आगे और पीछे ये डर है।
शराबों की क्या बात बोलूँ तुम्हे मैं,
शराबी के जज्बात बोलूं तुम्हे मैं ?
सोडे के नाम से ये शराब बेचते हैं,
और गरीबों की अर्थी पे हथेली सेंकते हैं।
न सच्ची रही अब मक्कारों की दुनिया,
ये दुनिया है अब इश्तेहारों की दुनिया।

नई क्रीम आयी है तुम भी लगा लो,
चमकती त्वचा सा निखार पा लो।
लड़की दोस्त ना है तो टेंशन न पालो,
नहाना जो भूलो, तो परफ्यूम लगा लो।
जो दिल और दिमाग एक जगह पे न हो फिर,
तो मेंटोस खा लो, दिमाग की बत्ती जला लो,
बालों की सफेदी जो बुढापा ले आये,
तुम गोदरेज लाओ, काटो खोलो और लगा लो।
जो जीते हो तुम है नजारो की दुनिया,
ये दुनिया है अब इश्तेहारों की दुनिया।

मैंने कब्रों की बेहतर सजावट भी देखी,
और माँ के दूध में फिर मिलावट भी देखी।
कलाकारों को कैमरे सामने हँसते भी देखा,
और उस झूठी हंसी की दिखावट भी देखी।
गैरों के मकानों में रहते थे जो लोग,
उनके हाथों मकानों की बनावट भी देखी।
जहाँ सर पे होती नही छत है अपनी, ये ऐसे रही है किराएदारों की दुनिया,
तुम्हे क्या बताऊँ तुम ख़ुद ही समझ लो, ये दुनिया है अब इश्तेहारों की दुनिया।

यहाँ ऑनलाइन है कीमा भी मिलता,
तेरे मरने के बाद बीमा भी मिलता।
जो कपड़े खरीदो तुम इनके यहाँ से,
तुम सीमा मँगाओ तो सीना है मिलता।
अब तो इंटरनेट पे भी मिल रही हैं सब्जियाँ,
तुम लौकी मँगाओ तो खीरा है मिलता।
जो नमक की हरामी हैं कर भी न सकते, ऐसे इंसानों से भरी है गद्दारों की दुनिया,
तुम्हें क्या बताऊँ तुम ख़ुद ही समझ लो, ये दुनिया है अब इश्तेहारों की दुनिया।

इश्तेहारों की दुनिया है पर याद आया,
ये दुनिया भी है तो सरकारों की दुनिया।
नई सड़कें बनके बनी जा रही हैं,
पुल से दबके यूँ जानें चली जा रही हैं।
हाँ। अखबारों में घर घर बिजली के डंके हैं,
पर अभी तक मेरे गाँव मे सिर्फ खंभे हैं।
हाँ ये भी इश्तेहार है कि माफी उधारी है,
पर इसमें भी वक़्त है, क्योंकि काम सरकारी है।
अखबारों में बेटी पढ़ाई जा रही है,
और टेलीविजन में बेटी बचाई जा रही है,
पर इनको कोई समझाए भी कैसे की हर घर मे ख्वाहिशें दफनाई जा रही है ।
ये वादे भी देते और वादाखिलाफी भी देते,
बस वक़्त आने पे माफी हैं मांग लेते।
सरकारों की नहीं ये गुनाहगारों की दुनिया,
ये दुनिया है अब इश्तेहारों की दुनिया।

ये दुनिया जो है कुछ ज्यादा ही कमबख्त है,
ये बाहर से मुलायम पर अंदर से सख्त है।
ये आंखों में मेरी झिलमिल रोशनी डाल देती है,
मुझको अंधा करके ये मुझे बेच डालती है,
इनकी साजिश अनोखी है पर है ये गहरी,
इनकी गूंजो के आगे है दुनिया ये बहरी।
लो तुम भी जरा अपने कानों से सुन लो, भले इनके पहरे में कई ख्वाब बुन लो,
जरा सोच चलना , है मजारों की दुनिया,
ये दुनिया है अब इश्तेहारों की दुनिया।

https://drjayashreegupta.blogspot.com/2018/11/inter-college-poetry-contest-in.html?m=1

Fight the Fakes will be in Ghana the second time this year to do what it does best: Raise awareness about falsified medicines at the Wellcome Trust Call to Action on Antimicrobial Resistance from 19-20 November. The focus will be specifically on fake antibiotics and their role in spreading antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

AMR is recognized as one of the most challenging global health threats today, and fake antibiotics can be a significant contributor to spreading AMR. According to WHO, one-third of all falsified and substandard antimicrobials reported were first and second choice antibiotics, meaning they are widely available.

Fake antibiotics can contain an insufficient amount of active ingredients, which increases the risk of antimicrobial resistance. This is why it is key Fight the Fakes contributes to the fight against superbugs and raises awareness about the dangers of falsified antibiotics.

The Call to Action, organised by the Wellcome Trust in partnership with the Inter-Agency Coordination Group (IACG) on Antimicrobial Resistance, and co-hosted with the governments of Ghana and Thailand, and the United Nations Foundation, is a key event to discuss which are the critical gaps in tackling drug-resistant infections.

Make sure you look for Fight the Fakes partners IFPMA, IPSF and USP, who will be there to represent the campaign.

Join the campaign on Social Media and speak up against #fakemeds

Share our Fight the Fakes visuals and messages on Twitter and Facebook using #fakemeds and #StopSuperbugs. Tell us why you fight fake medicines and drug resistance. We want to hear from you!

http://fightthefakes.org/updates/fake-antibiotics-in-spotlight-at-wellcome-trust-call-to-action-on-amr-19-20-november/

Counterfeit imaging supplies often contain dangerous chemicals which can damage printers, as well as causing serious health issues for consumers; the market in these illegal products is now believed to be worth €1.6bn, with law enforcement agencies across the globe struggling to meet the rising challenge.

The sale of counterfeit goods can also fund human trafficking, the drugs trade and even terrorism. The harm done to a reseller’s reputation by selling these illegal goods is significant – so, what can a business do to ensure they don’t get caught out?

The benefits of buying genuine

The simplest way that a retailer can protect their reputation is to not purchase counterfeit printer products. Buying from an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) is just one of the ways that a reseller can trust that its customers will receive optimal printing performance. Consumers also benefit from the manufacturer’s customer service support, should they run into any technical problems while using the products – should something go awry, they are covered by the item’s warranty.

For Valerie Whitelaw, a brand protection manager for Corporate Security at Xerox, and ICCE member, the problems of counterfeit printing products are all too real. “Counterfeiting is a multi-million dollar business” she says. “Having worked with law enforcement agencies around the world, I have seen first-hand the human cost of allowing these illegal supply chains to continue.

“The best way to protect consumers is for businesses to alert the relevant authorities when they suspect they are being offered fake goods; it’s through co-operation that can we can protect consumers and jobs.”

Industry support is available

Criminals will do their best to infiltrate supply chains with counterfeit products that look like the real thing, but help is available. The Imaging Consumables Coalition of Europe, Middle East and Africa (ICCE) has more than two decades of experience in stopping the sale of counterfeit goods. ICCE provides advice and support to dealers, distributors and consumers in the identification and authentication of ink consumable products, such as ink cartridges, ribbons and toners. ICCE members follow a strict code of conduct to ensure they don’t break any competition legislation when sharing information. The association also provides training to law enforcement agencies.

The organisation’s website has more information about ICCE and its work.

Counterfeit products are, without doubt, a threat to the market of genuine products and the future viability of legitimate businesses, as Nicola Consterdine, IP protection manager at Epson Europe, and ICCE member, explains.

“At Epson we invest heavily into research and development – approximately six per cent of our annual turnover, or $1.3m every day – and a significant proportion of this goes towards ink development to ensure the printer and ink will deliver the premium results our customers expect,” she says.

“When customers see the Epson brand, they are assured the product meets the highest quality and safety standards in the industry. Counterfeits can diminish consumer confidence in our brand, and are misleading for our customers who may be duped into paying premium prices for what they believe to be genuine Epson supplies.”

Criminal prosecutions of counterfeiters

Selling counterfeit products is a criminal offence and it is therefore advisable to check the source of products supplied to you. In recent months there have been several notable criminal prosecutions against counterfeiters and companies breaking consumer protection legislation; several individuals have received substantial jail sentences and significant fines as a result and, in Greece, two men were recently each sentenced to 21 months in prison for selling counterfeit printer goods.

The scale of the problem facing law enforcement is enormous, and makes intelligence-sharing even more vital. In the past few months police in the UAE have seized fake toner cartridges worth some $40m, while raids in Turkey uncovered more than 14,000 counterfeit printer products with a street value of €2m. ICCE members helped identify fake versions of their products during these investigations.

Protecting consumer rights

As the number of counterfeit imaging supplies has increased, law enforcement has joined forces with industry to combat the rising threat to consumers.

“Consumers don’t expect [to find] fake shampoo or a fake ink cartridge for sale on the internet or in the shops,” Chris Vansteenkiste, a cluster manager with Europol’s Anti-Counterfeiting Unit, IPC3, said during an interview with ICCE last year.

“Counterfeiters are becoming smarter. They’re not just focusing on luxury brands like they did in the beginning – they’re focusing on day-to-day consumer goods.”

The new head of Britain’s City of London Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU), Detective Chief Inspector Teresa Russell, goes further. “Why would anyone subject their family and friends to something that could cause severe physical harm to themselves or their property, for the sake of saving a couple of pounds?

“If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is – and help is available to consumers.”

Help to identify counterfeit goods

There are three key things for a dealer to check when purchasing imaging supplies to avoid falling foul of counterfeiters: source, price and quality. In addition, legitimate products have authentication features which can help resellers and consumers to identify potentially counterfeit products.

Source: Buying from a trusted dealer, or straight from a manufacturer, ensures that a reseller can have full confidence that the product they are receiving is genuine. They can show a potential customer detailed product information from the brand, which provides reassurance during the sales process.

Price: If the price sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.

Quality: If customers report any problems with the product – such as leaking, poor quality printing or strange odours – then it’s paramount that a dealer takes immediate action and recalls the item for review. Delay could cause further damage to a customer’s device and harm a reseller’s reputation by supplying a customer with a fake product.

Authentication: Counterfeiters make their money by selling multiple copies of smaller value items. As a result, they often make mistakes on the packaging or labelling which are easily identifiable, such as spelling brand names incorrectly. On the ICCE website, many manufacturers have explained the authentication methods they employ which can help resellers identify whether a product is counterfeit or not.

https://dealersupport.co.uk/finding-fakes-how-to-stop-counterfeit-imaging-supplies-from-damaging-your-business/amp/#top

In late 2012, 60 people died in two cities in Pakistan after drinking cough syrup to get high. Syrups from two separate manufacturers were involved. It was found that both were using an active ingredient – dextromethorphan, a synthetic morphine-like compound – imported from the same manufacturer in India. Indian drug authorities put a halt to production while they investigated.

Tests in Pakistan revealed that the medicines seemed to contain the correct amount of active ingredient. But further tests revealed something that was not supposed to be there. Levomethorphan, a chemical five times stronger than morphine, was the contaminant that had caused the deaths.

In September 2013, 44 children in Paraguay were admitted to hospital with breathing difficulties. It turned out the children had all been given a locally made cough medicine. Investigators went to the factory and found import records for the dextromethorphan it contained. When they checked the World Health Organization’s database of substandard and falsified medical products, they found that this came from the same batch that had caused the deaths in Pakistan.

Doctors in Paraguay were able to administer an antidote and save the children. A WHO alert went out listing the batches from the Indian factory that might be contaminated. By then the ingredient had been transported to multiple countries in Europe, north Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. It had already been made into cough medicines in Colombia and Peru, but these were recalled before they could reach patients. The batch that went to the Middle East could not be traced.

In this case, a blatantly poor-quality medicine was detected because its effects were conspicuous. A more discreet kind of substandard medicine – say, an antibiotic without enough active ingredient – probably stands a strong chance of reaching patients across the world without getting discovered.

https://mosaicscience.com/story/fake-drugs-global-antibiotics-amr-counterfeit-meds/

Anti-Counterfeiting Menace and India
It is evident that counterfeiting of products continues to be a bane to the Indian economy as well as the world-wide image of the country. Globalization has brought the positives of increased commerce and opened India up for direct foreign investment, which is excellent for the country’s economy. However, India’s status as a low-cost manufacturing base also opens it up for use by counterfeiters as a prime location for the production of counterfeit goods both for domestic sale and export.

As per the global counterfeit goods ranking, counterfeited drugs are at the top of the list with a market value of $200 billion. World over India is a leading manufacturer and exporter of high-quality generic and patent drugs. However, the TAXUD statistics released by the European Commission a few years back showed us the dark side by stating that 75 percent of fake drugs supplied world over had some origins in India. The figures are bound to have increased considerably.

The owners being more aware of their rights have now become more prudent and are swift in taking action. Various government agencies in cases of counterfeiting have taken action both on their own accord as well as upon receipt of a complaint, either from the private sector, the right owners or the consumers themselves. The health ministry in India has also undertaken various steps to clamp down on the illegal trade such as launching a reward program, offering $55,000 to those who provide information about fake-drug syndicates amongst others. Important changes have also been proposed to the country’s IP laws such as the procedure stipulated by the Drug Controller General of India in January 2011, which required an amendment to Rule 96 (manner of labeling requirement) of Drugs and Cosmetics Act. The proposed amendment made it mandatory for every drug manufactured in India to bear on its primary label Unique Identifier Code and 2D bar code by which anyone can verify the drug through an SMS.

In the News
The Indian Government has become proactive in its fight against counterfeiting especially in case of medicinal drugs. The latest weapon in the battle against the fake drug is Oracle’s Blockchain Solution. NITI Aayog, has partnered with the technology giant Oracle and local chain of hospitals, Apollo Hospitals, where Oracle will integrate its blockchain technology and a distributed ledger solution in pharmaceutical supply chain, which will create records that are unchangeable for each pharma transaction.1

Footnote

1 https://www.indianweb2.com/2018/08/25/india-to-fight-fake-drugs-problem-using-oracles-blockchain-solution/

For further information please contact at S.S Rana & Co. email: info@ssrana.in or call at (+91- 11 4012 3000). Our website can be accessed at www.ssrana.in

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

http://www.mondaq.com/india/x/741152/food+drugs+law/1Indian+Governments+latest+weapon+in+the+battle+against+Fake+Drug+Oracles+Blockchain+Solution

The drugs prescribed by the doctors to cure a person’s disease are unfortunately adulterated most of the times. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 35 percent of the fake drugs sold all over the world comes from India and it occupies the counterfeit drug market of nearly Rs 4,000 crore. 20 percent of the drugs sold in India are fake. Drugs prescribed for cold and cough or a headache are mostly either fake or of poor quality.

A patient receiving an authentic drug for his disease has become a challenge these days. The unfortunate thing is that the administration is mostly aware of everything that is happening. According to the data produced by the Department of Food Safety and Drug Administration, more than 10 percent of the counterfeit drugs have been introduced into the market and 38 percent of the drugs are not effective as they are of low quality.

According to the work report submitted by the Department of Food Safety and Drug Administration, Uttar Pradesh, in the year 2015, around 5,150 drugs and 301 cosmetics product samples seized in the raid conducted in the last eight months by them were sent to the laboratory for investigation. The examination report of 4,723 of these samples was astounding. 506 of these drugs were found to be fake which establishes that more than 10 percent of the drugs found in the market are fake. Apart from this, only 2,902 of these samples were found to be effective as per the standards.

National Institute of Biologicals conducted a study across the country during 2014-2016 following the orders of the Ministry of Health and Family Wel. During the survey, there were about 47,954 samples collected from the government hospitals, dispensaries, and pharmacies. More drugs of poor standards were found in the government hospitals as compared to the pharmacies in the market. While pharmacies in the market had 3 percent of the poor quality drugs, government hospitals had 10 percent. There were around 0.023 and 0.059 fake drugs found in the retail outlets and government hospitals respectively. According to the survey, there has been some improvement in the situation over the time.

Most of the fake drugs are made in extremely polluted atmosphere and the demand for these drugs is present all over the world, from South Africa and Russia to our neighbouring countries such as Myanmar and Nepal.

The standards created by the Pharmacy Council of India for setting up of pharmacy shops are also being regularly violated. One of the rules is that there should be a gap of at least 300 metres between two pharmacies. However, it is a common sight in India to spot two or three pharmacies right next to each other. The regular violations, which are the result of government’s apathy or corruption, are proving to be harmful to the common people of India.

https://yourstory.com/2017/06/india-fake-drugs/amp/

When Suraj Daspattnaik, a resident of Kolkata, booked a Titan watch from a prominent e-commerce website, he wasn’t aware that a long battle was about to commence. The 28-year-old had purchased a men’s watch from the Titan Karishma collection for around Rs 2,500 from online retailer Snapdeal in June 2017. But within four months of the purchase, the watch stopped functioning. He took it to the Titan showroom, along with the guarantee card and invoice, but the shop attendant, after examining the watch, declared it to be a fake. “I wrote to Snapdeal about what the Titan showroom people told me, to which the online site responded that I would have to get the same in writing,” says Daspattnaik. He went back to the Titan showroom in Howrah and explained his predicament. The personnel at the showroom asked him to leave the watch with them, telling him they would send it to a workshop to get it verified further. “A week later, they returned the watch and confirmed orally that it was fake. But they refused to give it to me in writing, saying there was no such company policy,” says the disgruntled customer.

Daspattnaik then registered a complaint with the Consumer Online Foundation, an online consumer redressal forum, which tried intervening, but without any success. “Snapdeal refuses to refund my money without a written confirmation from Titan. On the other hand, Titan maintains that they aren’t entitled to give me anything in writing,” says Daspattnaik, a health and security officer at a construction firm in Mumbai now. “I got transferred to Mumbai and now I don’t have the time to follow up. But I intend to take my case to a consumer court,” he says.

Das pattnaik isn’t alone. In a survey conducted in April by Local Circles, a community social media platform, as many as 38% consumers polled said they received a counterfeit product at least once in the past one year. The survey, which polled over 12,000 customers across India, mentioned 17% people being unsure of whether they received any counterfeit goods, while 45% said it had never happened with them.

“The results were a surprise, as we did not expect so many people to be affected by counterfeit goods. When 38% people say they have received counterfeit goods, it is an alarming number. It shows that e-commerce platforms are not serious about tackling this problem,” says K Yatish Rajawat, chief strategy officer, LocalCircles. In the survey, around 29% people surveyed said they received a counterfeit product from one of the leading websites.

The break-up includes Snapdeal (12%), followed by Amazon (11%) and Flipkart (6%). “When more than one-third of consumers are getting fake products, it means it’s a major problem. Our survey shows that big marketplaces are not ‘safe havens’,” adds Rajawat.

Rampant issue

From branded footwear, apparel and personal care products to watches, fragrances and alcohol, fakes exist in almost all categories. With the number of people shopping on online platforms on the rise, consumers are more and more exposed to fake goods. Besides convenience, e-commerce sites offer consumers a wide choice, as well as discounted prices, from the comfort of their homes. As per market research firm RedSeer Consulting, India’s online shopping industry is estimated to grow at 60% to about $28.5 billion in terms of gross merchandise value (GMV) in 2018. But the ugly world of fakes is a big menace to this industry too. In December 2017, American footwear brand Skechers filed a case against Flipkart, and four sellers on its platform, for fake goods being sold under its label. The company, with orders from the Delhi High Court, raided seven warehouses in Delhi and Ahmedabad to recover fakes from several sellers.

In response, Flipkart has now filed a police complaint against one of its major suppliers and an employee for cheating, fraud, forgery and breach of trust. “As a responsible online marketplace, Flipkart has a robust system of checks to ensure that any instances of fake or spurious products are detected quickly and delisted,” says a Flipkart spokesperson. The complaint was filed last month after Flipkart conducted a third-party forensic audit, which revealed that the supplier, along with the Flipkart employee (designated to liaise with the supplier), was importing sub-standard products. Fake goods being sold online in India isn’t anything new however. There have been several stray incidents that have been reported against big online marketplaces over the years. In 2015, popular eyewear brand Ray-Ban took ShopClues to the Delhi High Court over complaints that it was selling fake products under its brand name. The same year, L’Oréal and Tommy Hilfiger, too, initiated action against ShopClues.

Over the years, though, these instances have only increased. So what makes online portals succumb to fakes? “Due diligence of suppliers has taken a backseat, meaning that counterfeit (products) and infringing goods have become increasingly common,” says Arun Agarwal, vice-president, Authentication Solution Providers’ Association (ASPA), a Delhi-based not-for-profit body that represents the authentication solutions industry. Agarwal explains that most e-retailers, including Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal and Jabong, use a marketplace business model, with suppliers storing goods on the e-retailer’s behalf and delivering them once orders have been placed, so as not to fall under the B2C category. “This model depends on e-retailers expanding their supplier base in order to provide goods at competitive prices. But the challenge is to ensure that the product shipped from an e-commerce authorised vendor to the end customer is genuine and reaches without any tampering and repackaging,” he adds.

Battle for e-tailers

For e-commerce portals, the battle against fake products is even bigger. Most have ‘zero tolerance’ for counterfeit products. Amazon India maintains that it removes suspected counterfeit items as soon as the company becomes aware of them. “We suspend or block bad actors suspected of engaging in illegal behaviour or infringing others’ intellectual property rights (IPR). We have taken independent legal action against bad actors and will continue to do so,” says an Amazon India spokesperson. But the company did not divulge any details on how many sellers have been barred from the marketplace over fake goods in the past years or how many consumers have gotten refunds for such goods. “To preserve customer trust, we are investing heavily in protecting the integrity of the Amazon marketplace for consumers, sellers and manufacturers. We are also working closely with rights owners to strengthen protection for their brands on Amazon,” adds the spokesperson.

As per a report by RedSeer in April, the Indian e-commerce industry lost $3.4 billion in GMV due to product returns in 2017. As per Snapdeal, the problem of unscrupulous sellers attempting the sale of fake products is a generic one that impacts buyers, brands and marketplaces all over the world. Experts maintain that what should be worrisome is the increasing number of people falling prey to fakes, leading to trust deficit for online sites. “By 2020, over two billion e-shoppers—60% of the target global population—will be transacting 13.5% of their overall retail consumption online, equivalent to $3.4 trillion. So the biggest challenge today for e-commerce is trust. According to Edelman’s 2015 Trust Barometer report, trust in business and other institutions is at an all-time low,” says Agarwal of ASPA.

Rajat Chetia would agree. The 27-year-old from Sivasagar in Assam swore never to return to online sites for shopping after a bitter experience in February this year—he received duplicate Amway Nutrilite supplements from Snapdeal. “Since I had been using the product for a few months, I could spot the difference in packaging and realised it was fake. I sent a mail to Snapdeal and they asked me to send proof. I clicked pictures of the original box and the fake one, and sent them to the e-tailer. After a month or two, I was refunded the complete amount of `1,422 by Snapdeal,” says Chetia, who runs an automobile business in Sivasagar. “But what if I was a first-time user? Or someone who didn’t know how to pursue the case in a consumer forum?” he says. Most online portals might seek refuge in the fact that they are a marketplace, which acts as an intermediary, connecting buyers and independent third-party sellers.

But with brands threatening to pull out, and many having already done so, e-commerce giants are now working towards weeding out counterfeiters. In the past three years, Snapdeal has delisted/restricted 45,319 sellers from accessing the platform for non-compliance with the company’s terms of use. “Every seller listed with us is required to enter into a legal agreement to sell only new and genuine items. Sellers of a branded product are required to submit a brand invoice or a brand authorisation letter before they are allowed to list products on the marketplace. A seller found indulging in any malpractice is investigated and strict action is taken, which may include, amongst other measures, permanently barring the seller from using the platform. In the case of an IPR infringement, we take down the listing and support the brand by providing seller information to enable the brand to pursue legal remedies. Snapdeal acts against verifiable and actionable complaints, as per the applicable laws of the marketplace,” says a Snapdeal spokesperson.

The company maintains that it protects the interests of the buyer through the ‘Trust Pay’ policy, wherein buyers can return the product and get 100% refund in case they are dissatisfied with it. “Besides the image-recognition system that helps identify apparent violations, we are in the process of developing and deploying additional AI-based tools, which will help analyse and correlate product, price and image-related information to flag suspicious listings for further analysis,” the spokesperson adds. India is not the only country that faces the problem of fake goods in online retail. Top retailers such as Alibaba and eBay have also struggled to weed out counterfeits. Alibaba had, in fact, fired several of its employees in 2011 when it discovered that they had granted special status to more than 2,000 sellers who had cheated customers. “The survey by LocalCircles revealed that more than 50% customers don’t trust product reviews on e-commerce sites. A majority of them even said e-tailers don’t publish negative product reviews at all times. So all the stakeholders must take collective responsibility,” says Agarwal of ASPA.

Need to get tough

Consumer activists maintain that it’s time that stringent laws are put into practice. “The penalty and liability for selling fakes should not just be on the seller, but also on the marketplace,” says Bejon Mishra, an international consumer policy expert, founder of the Consumer Online Foundation and author of the Jago Grahak Jago consumer awareness programme. “Currently, what we have in place are laws for when you are cheated. But what about telling these marketplaces to follow good practices and put in stringent norms that registered sellers have to follow?” says Mishra. Brands, too, can’t shy away from taking the onus. Queries sent from Financial Express to many brands went unanswered. L’Oréal India legal director PL Mishra told FE: “We work closely with law enforcement agencies to take legal action against counterfeiters. Also, we have registered our brands as right holders under IPR rules 2007, as a result of which we are able to block fakes at the customs end itself.”

Rajawat of LocalCircles warns: “Brands need to realise that fakes sold online will have a major impact on their reputation. If consumers experience counterfeit (products), they will not be potential consumers in the future. And the growth for these brands will taper of. It is very important for the brand to take action and prevent counterfeit products from being sold online.” If we talk about the West, there are stringent laws in place there. “In the US, cheating with fake goods can lead to sellers and retail giants being sued for millions, besides having their licences cancelled. But in India, we have neither an aware consumer nor stringent laws,” Mishra laments.

Measures to tackle the menace, however, are underway. E-commerce platforms selling consumer products will be held liable for unfair trade practices under the new Consumer Protection Bill, 2018, which was introduced in Parliament in January this year. “It provides for the establishment of an executive agency to be known as the Central Consumer Protection Authority, which will deal with unfair trade practices and misleading advertisements,” says Agarwal of ASPA. There will, however, always be some loopholes in laws. And with counterfeiters becoming smarter by the day, it’s a problem that needs to be looked into more seriously. “The key is to be ahead of them. The biggest loophole is awareness amongst consumers towards the importance of the issue. The more they are aware, the more they will be vigilant before buying any product,” sums up Agarwal.

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