Nod to instant tea auction
Posted by barunroy on May 23, 2008
Siliguri, May 22: The Tea Board of India has given its nod to the introduction of the instant auction (IA) system by the Siliguri Tea Auction Centre.
“The chairman of the board, Basudeb Banerjee, has approved the proposal that had come from the Siliguri Tea Auction Committee (STAC),” said H.M. Dwibedi, a consultant to the board. “Banerjee has signed on the letter that will be faxed to the STAC any moment.”
Siliguri will be the first tea auction centre in India to start the system.
“We are waiting for the approval,” said S.K. Saria, the chairman of the STAC. “A meeting of the sales advisory committee has been convened on Tuesday in which we will finalise the date for the implementation of the system. If everything goes as planned, we will start the new system on June 10,” he added.
A. Roy Choudhury, deputy director, Tea Board, north Bengal, said the new system would be subjected to a review after two months of its operation. He added that the system would be optional keeping in mind the opposition to it by a section of the industry.
The move by the STAC is an attempt to counter private sale, which accounts for almost 50 per cent of total business.
Unlike the regular auction process, which takes three weeks to one month, in IA, the total cycle would be completed within seven-to-ten days. While this ensures a faster realisation of payments to the sellers, for buyers, the incentive comes in the form of a two per cent cash discount.
While in private sales, buyers pay four per cent VAT, it is only one per cent in the new system.
STAC hopes to get more volumes of tea through the new system. [The Telegraph]
