Unfair, deceptive practices hurting business growth

LAHORE: The entire social fabric needs to be rewoven because society, despite suffering losses, has started taking violations like adulteration, spurious drugs, tax evasion, smuggling, police excesses, and other injustices as business as usual.

Each injustice and violation adversely impacts the lives of the victims. In fact, more than 90 percent of the population is the victim of these evils, which not only take toll on their health but also burn holes in their budgets.

Adulteration reduces the amount of basic material with a low cost material that can be passed on to the consumer as original material. All types of adulteration are an undue burden on the pocket of the consumers.  In case of food, it could be injurious to health as well. If powdered red bricks are mixed in ground red chili peppers, the consumers suffer both financially and health wise. Diluting milk with water would decrease the quantity of milk ingredients causing financial losses only. The society on the face of it shows no concern to this blatant broad daylight debasement of food.

Spurious drugs are devoid of disease-curing ingredients. The patients’ condition worsens and hospitalizations follow, thus losses. In serious cases they can lead to life-threatening conditions.

The drug-fakers are usually holed up in residential neighbourhoods. The locals, who are aware of their presence avoid using those drugs but are not bothered if they are being sold elsewhere. Counterfeit medicines are marketed not only for human beings but also for animals and agricultural crops. They cause losses of billions of rupee as they simply don’t work. Again the society shows no resistance to these practices.

There are certain consumables that are subjected to high rate of sales tax. If a truckload of beverages leaves a factory without paying taxes, its retailer will charge the same price as for duty-paid products. This way they not only cheat the government but also the consumer. The insiders in the manufacturing facility are aware of this violation but since tax collectors are also the beneficiaries of this corruption, no one dares raise their voice.

Supervising the production of cement, beverages, edible oil, wheat flour and other processed foods electronically through third party is the low-cost answer. However, those involved in this crime as partners come up with various excuses to avoid electronic surveillance of production.

When vehicle owners buy unbranded lubricants for their cars or bikes, there is a possibility that the oil was cleaned with chemicals. Some of the chemical might have remained in the oil that would harm their engines. They prefer finding short-term gain over fending off long-term harm.

Much has been written about smuggling and under-invoicing and solutions based on technology are available but the regulators seem unwilling to act accordingly.  Society, as a whole, remains a silent observer without realizing that many livelihoods have been lost because of these unethical imports.

It needs to be noted that the same products --smuggled or under-invoiced-- were being produced in Pakistan. The units making those products gradually closed and the jobs were transferred to foreign countries. There is a need to create awareness among the consumers about impact of malpractices on their lives.

The civil society should organize rallies, seminars, and walks to transform the society from tolerating illegalities. It is strange that we as a nation are intolerant on trifling issues but remain tolerant of corruption and injustice.