Ficci pegs illicit trade at near Rs 8 lakh crore in 5 key sectors

New Delhi: Industry body Ficci has called for strict punishment and better surveillance to deal with the illicit trade, which is pegged at Rs 7.97 lakh crore a year for five key sectors including apparel and fast-moving consumer goods.

The illicit market in packaged foods at Rs 2.23 lakh crore in 2022-23 was more than one-fourth (25.4%) of the country's packaged food market, according to Ficci's Committee against smuggling and counterfeiting activities destroying the economy (Cascade) report released on Wednesday,

Illicit trade in the textiles and apparel segment stood at ₹4.03 lakh crore in FY23, growing 29.67% since 2017-18 when it was worth ₹3.11 lakh crore, the report said.


The Central Board of Indirect Tax and Customs, which is working against counterfeit goods and smuggling, has effected the arrest of over 3,000 people and seized foreign products worth ₹40 crore in the last 15 months.

"We have built a technology-driven risk management portal with very wide capabilities that help us predict possible smuggling operations," Rajiv Talwar, member (compliance) of CBIC said while releasing the Cascade report. "Field officers are making on an average 60 detections a day with the help of this portal," he added.