Tea Board India was set up under section 4 of the Tea Act 1953 by an Act of Parliament and functioning as a statutory body of the Central Government under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Department of Commerce. The Board is constituted of 31 members (including Chairman) drawn from Members of Parliament, tea producers, tea traders, tea brokers, consumers, and representatives of Governments from the principal tea producing states, and trade unions.
The objects of the Board are, inter alia, to regulate the production and cultivation of tea in India, to encourage research, to regulate the sale and export of tea, to provide training in tea testing and fixing grade standards of tea, and improving the marketing of tea in India and abroad through Tea (Marketing) Control Order, 2003 and the Tea (Distribution & Export) Control Order, 2005. The Board has a number of statutory duties and functions under the Tea Act and its various enabling Orders which govern production, quality assurance marketing and export of teas.
Standard development activity:
They have developed standards for varieties of teas based on the geographical location of the tea plantation namely Darjeeling, Nilgiri, Munnar, Assam, Kangra & Dooars-Terai apart from Green, CTC, Orthodox, Oolong, Organic, Instant teat and quick brown Black tea.
Other quality characteristics (chemical & biological) of tea shall conform to the specification as laid down under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and relevant rules & regulations framed under this act.
Certification activity:
Tea Board operates a number of licensing/certification scheme like Certificate of Origin for teas designated as Geographical Indication that covers all stages from the production level to the export stage to ensure that the tea sold is genuine, tea produced in the defined region as specified therein under The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 and it meets the criteria laid down by the Tea Board. No tea shall be exported unless covered by a licence/permit issued by or on behalf of the Board.
The details of the procedure for obtaining certification/license are available under the tag ‘Regulatory activities’ of the home page.
Click here to see the list of approved laboratories for tea testing along with their scope.
Key Contact person: Click to see the details of the key persons
Website: http://www.teaboard.gov.in/