A proposal to create an exclusive head of account for penalties remitted for violations of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce Production, Supply and Distribution) Act (COTPA) is still confined to paper.
With the police, and Excise and Health Departments cracking the whip, a hefty sum collected as penalty from the violators reaches the treasury. But, the government does not have a break-up of the penalty collected by various agencies as it goes into a miscellaneous account.
The police collected Rs.1,88,54,614 as penalty for violations of COTPA provisions from 2012 to June this year. This year’s collection (till June) came to Rs.79,92,964. Details of the fines collected by the other law enforcing agencies and deposited in the exchequer are not available.
To overcome this lacuna, the Health Department had mooted a proposal to set up a dedicated head of account. The proposal is still pending with the Finance Department.
Creating an exclusive account for the penalty levied under COTPA violations would help the government utilise the amount for funding tobacco control programmes and other public health measures, sources said. The fines that reached the treasury from various agencies were diverted and used for other purposes in view of the financial difficulties, sources said.
The Union Health Ministry has asked the States to rigorously implement the provisions of Act by issuing “appropriate instructions” to the officers of the Health, Home, and Municipal Administration.
The Kerala Police had recently launched a drive near the educational institutions to free campuses of drugs and tobacco products. Violations are mainly booked by the police under COTPA Sections 4, 5, 6 (a), 6 (b) and 7 in the State by an officer not below the rank of sub-inspector.
