Raids on Aditya Birla, BK Birla firms; Rs 77 lakh yarn seized

Godowns of the Birla Group owned companies at Bhiwandi near here were raided by the officials of the Controller of Legal Metrology and yarn worth around Rs 77 lakh were seized for want of proper packaging on the material, an official release said here today.
The release stated that the raids were conducted under the direct guidance of the Controller of Legal Metrology, Ashok Dongre.
The seized goods comprised yarn manufactured by Century Rayon of the BK Birla Group worth Rs 43,92,500 and Aditya Birla Nuvo worth Rs 33,00,000.
According to the release, the seized goods did not have any declaration as stipulated in the Weights and Measures Act and also the Legal Metrology Act and Rules 2009 and 2011.

However when contacted, a spokesperson of the Aditya Birla Group said the company was fully compliant with the packaging norms and was not aware of any new packaging stipulation as the seized goods were packed as per the existing per industry packaging norms.
"We are fully compliant with the existing packaging regulations and we are sure to convince the authorities about the same. We don't know of any new packaging norms.

"The seized yarns are industrial raw materials for textile manufacturing to be marketed to institutional clients. The quantities are in 50 kg cartons, which is the industry size packaging," the spokesperson said.

According to the industry practice, raw materials are not mandated to carry packaging labels, said an industry analyst.
BK Birla group could not be contacted for reaction.
Cases of violation under the said rules and Act have been registered against the concerned for having failed to make declarations on the packages, the release said.
Further probe and action into the case is being carried out by the office of the Controller of Legal Metrology, the release said.