Tea board to lay down SOP to curb illegal imports soon
Times of India | 4 January 2026
Kolkata: Tea Board of India is set to roll out a standard operating procedure (SOP) within the next two weeks to curb the influx of unauthorised tea from Nepal and other countries, a practice that has been hurting the domestic tea industry. The state labour department has advised the industry to involve workers, rather than unions, in efforts to address issues in tea gardens.
C Murugan, deputy chairman of the board, assured industry stakeholders in Kolkata on Saturday that 100% quality-testing of imported tea would be implemented to prevent entry of cheaper and inferior varieties.
Speaking at the biennial general meeting of Tea Association of India (TAI), Murugan said the board is in the process of creating necessary infrastructure for the quality testing. "It will take 15 to 20 days. After that, we will seek legal opinion, followed by approval from the commerce ministry. The board is also planning to make generic promotion of Indian tea in overseas markets," he said.
Murugan also said an outlay of Rs 1,500 crore, under the Tea Development and Promotion Scheme, 2026, has been earmarked for the next five years, with small tea-growers (STGs) also set to benefit. "The board will act as a facilitator and move towards liberalisation of controls. It will not be involved in the auction system but will facilitate the process," he said.
Bengal labour secretary Avanindra Singh said cheap imports of inferior quality tea from Nepal were damaging the Darjeeling tea industry. He urged tea garden managements to clear workers' dues at the earliest.
"I urge the industry to come forward and acquire closed tea gardens in Bengal. At present, people with no experience in the tea industry are buying large tracts of land of sick and closed gardens at low prices but are unable to run them. The best way for the industry to survive is through the participation of tea workers in running the gardens by giving them equity. This will create a sense of ownership among the tea garden workers," he said.
TAI president Sandeep Singhania said restricting such imports was crucial for the survival of the Darjeeling tea industry.