Product Information & Labelling

The FMCG - Cigarettes business complies fully with the following Acts with relevant amendments:

• Standards of Weights and Measures Act (Packaged Commodities Rules)
• Cigarettes Act
• Central Excise Act
• COTPA [Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act]

The business has provisions in place to ensure validation of the product with respect to all relevant statutes prior to commercial launch.

At the design stage of any new product, a rigorous system of approval, following the principles of Six Sigma, has been instituted. One of the defined stages is the confirmation of adherence to all the statutes listed above by an internal legal expert (further reinforced with opinions from external counsel). This ensures that every new product complies with all the relevant Acts and laws before specifications are finalised. Finally, the product design is approved by the Corporate Management Committee.

In addition, for every product and process of manufacture, there are quality protocols to ensure adherence to specifications. The statutes applicable to factory operations have been converted into standardised checklists. These checklists are constantly updated by a central expert panel to reflect any changes in Acts and laws.

Each operating business unit ensures that these checklists are adhered to and there is a formal reportback from the Heads of departments/units confirming adherence. The Divisional and Corporate Management Committees also review this periodically.

The Foods business complies with all statutes relevant to packaged branded Food products (including statutes on labelling and product information), which include:

• Prevention of Food Adulteration Act
• Standard of Weights & Measures Act
• Food Products Order
• Packaged Commodity Rules

To ensure continuous compliance with the statutes, there is an internal mechanism of checks and compliance certification by operating managers.

In addition to statutory requirements, the business ensures voluntary declaration of nutrition facts in the final packaging of its Ready-to-Eat products.

In the Greeting, Gifting and Stationery business every 'Expressions' product is sold under strict adherence to product information and labelling requirements. Every stationery product carries on its label the month/year of manufacture, paper parameters (size and GSM), number of pages and category (consumer choice). The business complies with the requirements of the Standards of Weight and Measures Act (including the Packaged Commodity Rules) and has in-built systems to ensure compliance including review before the launch of a new category.

In the Hotels business, the Company does not produce and sell any packaged product. However, product information regarding Rooms and Food & Beverages is communicated through brochures, in-room literature and the website.

In the Paperboards & Specialty Papers business product development is an integral part of the marketing and process functions. All new product ideas are taken through the product development protocol and after establishing technical feasibility and commercial viability, trials are undertaken at the manufacturing locations. At this stage a development specification is drawn out which, after three manufacturing runs, is drawn out into a final specification sheet keeping in mind the customer requirement and the process capability.

In this business, information about the product, covering relevant technical parameters agreed and finalised with the customer, is documented in the product specification sheet. Quality Assurance Certificates are issued for the consignments on request from customers. The label on each product pack bears the product name, substance (gsm), size, weight and batch/reference number for effective traceability. All product specifications are reviewed once a year and changes are incorporated wherever necessary.

In the Packaging and Printing business, all packages are barcoded. The products are checked as per internal quality procedures/agreement with customers before despatch.

In Agri business, products are primarily on a B2B basis and are labelled to meet customer requirements on either quality parameters, shipping marks or any importing country labelling requirements. These may, where required, be accompanied by phytosanitary certifications, surveyor quality and quantity reports, Chamber of Commerce certificates etc. All statutory requirements for export are complied with.

In the Leaf Tobacco business, all products are labelled to meet customer specifications. Labels normally contain information about the Grade, Crop Year, Weight, Lot No., date and the location where the product is packaged, and in certain cases, the destination and the customer that the product is intended for.

All the packages are barcoded. The products scrupulously conform to the prescribed chemistry (Sugars, Nicotine, Chloride, etc.), Particle Size distribution, stem content; and the Packing (Moisture and Temperature) requirements of the customer. The protocols for testing and tolerances are specified by the customer.

The manufacturing units at Anaparti and Chirala are ISO 9001 certified. The quality procedures for the above parameters are clearly enunciated in ISO 9001 manual. The units have advanced systems to monitor strict adherence to process and packing specifications laid down by the customers. In addition to providing information, samples from the final packages are sent to customers for cross-verification in their laboratories.

The barcode label on packed product ensures 'Product Traceability' in the tobacco supply chain from Farm to the Customer. This initiative enables tracking the sourcing of Green Leaf to the farm, crop year, the operating parameters during processing and the product packing and delivery stages.

In the Lifestyle Retailing business, all the products are labelled to conform to statutory requirements. Additional information on attributes of the product is given to inform the consumer of the salient features of the product. The product also carries instructions on handling and care.