ACMA, SIAM to hold national seminar on anti-counterfeiting

June 4, 2012: Industry bodies ACMA amd SIAM are to jointly organise a national seminar on the menace of fake parts in the Indian automotive industry. The day-long event is to be held at Hotel The Lalit, New Delhi, on June 8, which is World Anti-Counterfeiting Day.

ACMA and SIAM have jointly pledged a nation-wide campaign against the use of counterfeit components. A recent ACMA study, after a primary survey of the Rs 330 billion Indian automotive aftermarket, has revealed that a whopping 36 percent of parts sold in the aftermarket are spurious. Given the huge scale of the problem, the losses are enormous including a large number of road accidents (around 20 percent of all road accidents in India are directly or indirectly attributed to the use of counterfeit automotive parts), loss to government exchequer, high fuel consumption and high repair costs.

The seminar will bring together senior government officers, captains of the automobile and component sectors, dealers and distributors of auto parts, customs and judiciary to discuss the impact of counterfeits and suggested recommendations.

The panelists will speak on the current Indian automotive aftermarket and servicing scenario, emerging trends, the size and impact of the fake parts market, the grey market and existing border-related measures, some best practices in industry to tackle counterfeits, and the existing legislative remedies with suggested amendments to tackle counterfeits.

ACMA has been driving the campaign against fake parts for quite some time now. Its Asli Naqli pavilion at the Auto Expos has helped grow awareness of the problem. The pavilion at the 2012 Auto Expo saw 16 leading component manufacturers participate, their displays helping educate visitors and showcase the difference between genuine and fake products.

For details on the ACMA-SIAM seminar, email sapna.vijh@acma.in, acma@acma.in