Staff Reporter
Guwahati: The Tea Board, India, has resumed 100% testing of teas imported into India from other countries and issued a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to be followed for importing tea.
There have been concerns expressed by certain quarters regarding the low quality of tea imported from several countries, and the mandatory testing of imported tea will ensure that certain standards are maintained.
Regarding the 100% testing of teas imported into India, the Tea Board has issued a directive and the SOP dated June 30, 2026.
As per the directive of the Tea Board, 100% testing of teas imported into India started from May 1, 2026. In the meantime, a Ministry of Commerce & Industry Office Memorandum dated June 19, 2026, conveyed the Record of Discussion of the meeting held on June 16, 2026. The Tea Board, for the time being, has officially authorised the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to carry out 100% testing of imported tea meant for re-export on behalf of the Tea Board. As decided by the Board, risk-based testing for imported tea meant for domestic consumption shall continue to be done by FSSAI at the initial rate of 20%.
Therefore, in exercise of the power under paragraph 34 of the said Tea (Distribution and Export) Control Order, 2005, the Board has directed that all import consignments of tea meant for re-export shall be mandatorily issued a clearance certificate in order to ensure quality and traceability in accordance with the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). Meanwhile, the Tea Board shall continue to issue clearance certificates for imported teas meant for domestic consumption.
The SOP to be followed for importing tea into India is as follows: Submission of information of import in the Tea Council Portal, viz., tentative date of arrival of shipment, warehouse details for storing of such imported teas, etc., along with number of containers and proforma invoice; the exporter shall upload the complete packaging design, indicating the Country of Origin, through which the imported teas will be re-exported at the time of submission of the application for obtaining the Clearance Certificate prior to export, and not at the initial stage of import; the importer shall be issued with the import clearance certificate by Tea Board through the Tea Council portal, while for teas imported meant for re-export, import clearance certificate shall be issued; upon arrival of the import consignment, FSSAI shall draw sample for sending to the enlisted NABL-approved lab for testing of FSSAI parameters.
The SOP also states that the concerned laboratory selected by FSSAI shall upload the test report within 5 days from the date of receipt of the sample; the samples that have passed shall be issued with the clearance certificate by the Tea Board through the Tea Council portal; teas imported for export have to be exported within six months from the date of import into the country.
However, instant tea and Ready-to-Drink (RTD) tea shall be exempted from the sampling requirements, the SOP states.
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