user: A thriving organised market in counterfeit items, with Delhi at its centre, is driving an economy running into several thousand crores. A Mail Today investigation has discovered that skillfully-run establishments sell anything from cosmetic products, packaged items of common use, electronic appliances, computer accessories, auto parts mobile phone accessories and more making the National Capital the hub of counterfeit goods. They flourish because of lower costs but the investigation revealed that these goods find their way into the market and are often sold as genuine products at the MRP of a regular item. Fake: A report by Assocham indicates that besides being a big market for fake products, the Capital is the main transit point for the sale of such goods. Gaffar Market: One of the largest markets in the country for counterfeit and smuggled products in the categories of mobile phones and accessories, cosmetic items and commonly used electronic appliances. Sadar Bazar: Wholesale market in Old Delhi where one can get all sorts of fake items, including packaged FMCG and cosmetic items from selected shops. Some markets where these goods are easily available and sold openly like any legitimate business are Gaffar Market, Sadar Bazar, Khari Baoli, Bhagirath Place, Nehru Place and Kashmere Gate. Gaffar Market has come to be known for counterfeit and smuggled mobile phones and accessories, cosmetic items and commonly used electronic appliances. Sadar Bazar is a wholesale market in Old Delhi where fake packaged FMCG goods and cosmetic items can be bought from select shops. All have a regular clientele. Kashmere Gate is one of the largest auto parts markets in the country. Some shops sell fake branded auto spares at one fifth the original price or less. Nehru Place is big computer accessories markets and one can get pirated software and fake hardware from there. Market size. According to a report by industry body Assocham, the current market size of counterfeit products is Rs 45,000 crore. Of this Delhi alone contributes nearly 75 per cent to the production of fake goods. The report indicates that besides being a big market for fake products, the Capital is the main transit point for the sale of such goods. One dealer who admitted to selling fake cosmetic items said: "We don't sell these items to every trader. We have old and trusted traders from Delhi and outside." On the price difference, he said, while a case of original talcum powder would Rs 120, the fake one costs Rs 50 or less. Bhagirath Place Market: Wholesale market at Chandni Chowk where one can get fake and smuggled electronic appliances. Kashmere Market: One of the largest auto parts markets in the country. Some shops sell fake-branded auto spares at one fifth of the original price or even less. Nehru Place: Asia's biggest computer accessories market. One can get all sorts of pirated software and fake hardware parts from this place. "We sell it to the retailers at Rs 55-60. And, the retailer will sell it to the customers as a genuine product at the maximum price or a bit less," he added. When asked about the packaging and appearance, he hesitatingly showed a bottle of a wellknown brand. "Can you say that this is not an original bottle?" he asked. Sri Ram Khanna of Consumer Voice said counterfeiting is rampant. "There are two situations. In one case a consumer buys the fake item without being aware of it. In this situation he gets cheated as he is paying for the original. In the second case, there are counterfeit products which are available at lower prices. "Suppose, a mechanic tells you about the low quality auto part before fitting it in your vehicle. Here, you are not cheated as you are aware of this, but, the product is obviously of sub-standard quality." Anil Rajput, chairman of Ficci-CASCADE, said that almost all packaged and non packaged items are being copied and Delhi is the centre of the illegal business. "In most cases, people are being cheated as they are not aware that the products they are buying are fake ones. Once consumed, the result can be dangerous in case of fake products," he added. Alarming signs. Big companies like Philips India, Hindustan Unilever and Heinz India have raised an alarm on this front and their complaints saw separate cases being registered with the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Delhi Police last month. Last year Delhi Police raided a store in Central Delhi area, seizing a huge stock of counterfeit cosmetics, including those labelled as Revlon, Ponds and Dove. The police action unearthed a fake packaging factory, bringing the focus on the need for secure packaging and labelling for cosmetics and pharma items in India. Explaining the techniques adopted by the manufacturers, a police officer said: "Nowaday's the manufactures situated in Outer Delhi and northeast Delhi areas have started using advanced machines. "To make it appear original, they also use computerised and digital machines to write prices, manufacturing dates and batch numbers on the packets. You can't make out the differences." The sale of counterfeit products is not only affecting consumers but it's also causing heavy losses to the government as well as the private sector. Anil Rajput, chairman, Ficci-CASCADE (Committee Against Smuggling and Counterfeiting Activities Destroying the Economy) said the business of fake items is a cause of concern for everybody. "This is causing losses to the government due to tax evasion. The sales of industries are badly affected. It is also causing losses to the consumers as they are being cheated into purchasing substandard items," he added. The Ficci-CASCADE study on "Socio-economic Impact of Counterfeiting, Smuggling and Tax Evasion in Seven Key Industry Sectors" revealed that the estimated annual tax loss to the government in 2012 is estimated at Rs 26,190 crore. The study further estimates an annual sales loss to industry of a whopping Rs 1,00,000 crore. The key sectors which were included in the study were auto components, alcohol, computer hardware, FMCG (personal goods), FMCG (packaged goods), mobile phones and tobacco. The highest loss in terms of revenue is from FMCG (packaged goods) at Rs 20,378 crore (23.4%), FMCG (personal goods) at Rs 15,035 crore (25.9%), auto components at Rs 9,198 crore (29.6%), mobile phones at Rs 9,042 crore (20.8%) and tobacco at Rs 8,965 crore (15.7%). The maximum tax loss on account of smuggled and counterfeit products to the government is from the tobacco sector at Rs 6, 240 crore followed by FMCG (packaged food) at Rs 5,660 crore and FMCG (personal goods) at Rs 4,646 crore. Rajput said excessive taxation is one of the main reasons behind flourishing of the business of fake items. "Heavy taxes on products have led to flourishing of the fake goods markets. To avoid paying high taxes, people get trapped into buying cheaper products," he added. Similarly, a study by Assocham said Delhi accounts for 75 per cent of the rapidly growing counterfeit industry in the country and the current market size of the counterfeit products is Rs 45,000 crore. It also said the maximum loss for FMCG companies works out to 45 per cent, though on an average, it is around 25 per cent of the market share of well-known products. Assocham's study showed that other segments that were hit by fake goods sale are vegetable oils, spices, ghee and watch components. The sale of spurious products in these product categories has been estimated to be close to Rs 15,000 crore by 2013. The industry body estimated that by the end of 2013, counterfeit goods market in India will be worth more than Rs 55,000 crore.

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assistant: Capital is the main transit point for the sale of black market goods. Philips India, Hindustan Unilever and Heinz India raise alarm. Estimated annual tax loss in 2012 is estimated at Rs 26,190 crore. Annual sales loss to industry could be a whopping Rs 1,00,000 crore. Counterfeit market by year's end will be worth more than Rs 55,000 crore.