NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought responses from the Center and other stakeholders on a petition seeking a ban on the sale of alcohol in “inconspicuous packaging” like tetra packs and sachets.
A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalia Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi agreed to hear the petition filed by the community NGO against drunk driving, and issued notices to the Center and others, including tax departments of all states.
Advocate Vipin Nair, representing the petitioner, said the definition of ‘bottle’ was ambiguous under the tax regime and there should be some standardisation. When he pointed out that some alcoholic beverages were packaged in tetra containers bearing images of a green apple, the council noted that “this is very deceptive.”
“They are mixing fruit juice with alcoholic beverages. They use an image of apples and the can contains vodka,” Nair said.
He said that it is the state’s duty to protect the health of citizens.
“There are no warning labels like there are on tobacco. These packets are similar to those found in fruit juices but contain vodka with images of green apple. There is also vodka with chili and mango,” Nair said.
The petition sought a direction to the Center to devise a policy applicable to all states and union territories and ban the sale of alcohol in packages like tetra packs and sachets.
It also sought a direction to the Center to formulate a policy with respect to states to amend their tax laws, rules and policies forthwith, and adopt uniform definitions of ‘bottling’ limited to glass containers or other clearly marked vessels.
There should be uniformity and harmonization of tax policies of different states regarding packaging of liquor, the petition said.
She said unclear packaging could lead to a significant increase in overall alcohol consumption.
“The petitioner is constrained to file this public interest petition after observing that alcohol, especially cheap alcohol, is being sold in inconspicuous packaging such as portable PET bottles, plastic bags and Tetra packs in various states across the country,” it said.
The appeal said that these containers pose various risks, including juvenile consumption, drinking in a moving vehicle, health risks, increased ease of smuggling, ease of public consumption, and environmental issues.
“Moreover, these Tetra packs feature attractive packaging in bright colors but do not contain prominent health warnings as in cigarettes, which would discourage people from driving under the influence of alcohol,” she added.
The warning, if any, was written in small letters that were barely visible or recognizable to the consumer, the petition said.
“It is alarming to note that these tetra packs are being marketed under labels such as ‘Bunty Premium Vodka’, ‘Chili Mango Vodka’ and ‘Premium Romanov Vodka – Apple Thrill’, which are clearly intended to mislead consumers,” she said.
The petition said that bottling of alcoholic beverages in the country is regulated by the tax laws of the respective states.
She said that each excise law has its own definition of ‘bottle’ and all excise laws always give wide discretion to the authorities to allow different types of containers of liquor.
“The discretion given to them is not guided by environmental or health concerns. The only guiding factor for the tax authorities appears to be to maximize financial benefit to the state,” the petition said.
She said that alcoholic beverages sold in inconspicuous containers were very easy to sneak into public places like parks and educational institutes and children could not be easily spotted if they consumed alcohol from such containers.
“Apart from this, the environmental damage caused by plastic bags, plastic bottles and Tetra packs further exacerbates the problem. These bottles are almost impossible to recycle and there is no reason to encourage them other than to increase revenue,” she said.
Since every state has its own packaging policy, it is important for the Supreme Court to intervene and protect the fundamental rights of citizens by banning the sale of alcohol in such packaging, the petition said.
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