India's top cigarette maker ITC Ltd, part-owned by British American Tobacco , said it was not ready to print bigger health warnings on its packs as mandated by the government and will keep its factories shut until clarity emerges on the new rules. ITC's comments highlight the latest tussle between India's $10 billion cigarette industry and the government after new rules kicked in on Friday mandating health warnings should cover 85 percent of a pack's surface, up from 20 percent now.
A parliamentary panel last year forced the government to delay the new rules, saying it was assessing how the industry would be impacted. But the health ministry later said the warnings must be adopted on April 1. The panel of lawmakers last month called for reducing the size of warnings to 50 percent to protect the interests of the industry and tobacco farmers. ITC said the health ministry's push to go ahead with its rule was "contrary to its earlier decision to await the (parliamentary) committee's findings".
"The industry was led to believe that the government would renotify new health warnings after considering the committee's recommendations," ITC said in its statement. Health ministry officials could not be reached for a comment on Saturday. A senior official had told Reuters on Friday the government was committed to implementing new rules.
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