Plans by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in the Philippines to provide greater protection for consumers against the dangers of counterfeit electrical products have been welcomed by the trade body representing the hologram industry in India.
The Hologram Manufacturers Association of India (HOMAI) says the DTI’s requirement for vendors to include new upgraded Import Commodity Clearance (ICC) Hologram stickers on electrical goods by April 2012 is another step forward in the battle against counterfeiters.
Pradip Shroff, HOMAI President, said: “There is an urgent need for Govt. of India and Bureau of Indian Standard (BIS) to protect consumers from counterfeit products. The recent hooch tragedy in West Bengal is a recent example. Use of Hologram should be mandated by BIS for all products. In India we have now "Star energy labels" for electrical goods to indicate the energy saved. These labels can be easily upgraded by incorporating use of security holograms. In India and all over the world Security holograms are widely used in excise seals, credit cards, election IDs, driving licence, pass ports, currency notes etc.
It also reaffirms the hologram’s position as a pre-eminent security feature in the global anti-counterfeiting fight.”
The DTI has unveiled an update of the 2009 ICC sticker, which features higher definition printing to make it costlier and more difficult to duplicate.
These serve as indicators to consumers that products such as electric fans, light bulbs, Christmas lights, fuses, air conditioners have passed mandatory safety standards enforced by the Trade department.
Importers must submit samples of these goods for inspection to receive an ICC certificate for the business and safety seals which must be affixed on the products.
The HOMAI is a not-for-profit organisation working to stimulate the understanding, adoption, use and widespread application of holographic technology. Established in 1998, it consists of India leading producers and converters of holograms for anti-counterfeiting, brand protection, packaging, graphics and other commercial applications around the world. Today, HOMAI member companies are providing various solutions to protect more than 10,000 brands and helping states government’s revenues in India.
Today, Holograms are used by more than 90 issuing authorities on nearly 250 bank notes denominations worldwide. They are used in many currencies such as Euro, Canadian Dollar, Brazilian Real, British Pound, Japanese Yen, South Korean Won, Hong Kong Dollar etc. In India, Holograms are used in Excise labels, Identity Card, Pharma industry and FMCG.
