You really think government rules and regulations work to the T? Not really. Here is how street smart people get around it, says VIKAS GUPTA.
The government builds boundaries and walls around business considering greater good of the nation. However it is very difficult to stop any business for which there is demand. Smart businessmen would just tweak their model to take advantage of the government loopholes. Here are a few examples:
Goa Casino: We cannot gamble with live counters in India. That’s the law of our land; but what about waters! The Deltin group of Goa have smartly been able to get license for off-shore live casino. Off shore means the Deltin small jetty/ catamaran will take you away few meters from the land from Panjim’s River Mandovi where you can gamble on a $110 million luxury cruise parked in the water. India is largest country by population and in this gambling
starved high society India, Goa casino’s are just able to fill the sweet spot. Gambling is fun, adventurous and gives you adrenaline rush but on the other hand It is addictive and I get goosebumps when I hear stories of people who have ruined their lives by gambling.
Cars: Ever wondered why there have been so many hatchback cars being released in the past two years? Here is the list.
You can literally find almost all the shades of designs possible in a hatchback in India. The compact sedans are designed to be as long as possible but still short enough to take advantage of a lower excise duty on small cars. The excise duty in below 4 meter cars is 12% and above that is 24% – 30%. So the next time you wonder why you see so many small cars and that too so similar to each other, remember it’s the government!
Alcohol marketing: Alcohol cannot be marketed under Indian law. But alcohol companies are also operating in a highly competitive market and the aim of business is profit maximization and not education. Hence companies resort to something called as surrogate advertising. According to Elton D’Souza, Media planner, “They use similar product, to hammer the brand name in the mind of the viewer and yet stay legally correct.”
For example you might have see a Cobra’s water brand with the same brand positioning as Cobra Beer — ‘So smooth, everything goes down well’ other examples include Kingfisher Mineral Water, UB Export Soda, Hay 5000 CD Rack, Kingfisher Model Hunt and Castle Malt Beverages, Carlsberg club glasses. Glasses really!
Similar is the case of tobacco. According to Section 7 of cigarettes and other tobacco products act, tobacco advertising and promotion have been banned but small pan wala or cigarette booths carry big, colorful backgrounds mimicking the colors and design and logo of different brands of tobacco, including pictures. Mr R. Agarwal says, ”I am a regular smoker and I can instantly recognize the logo of the cigarette brand near pan shops”. When asked if the Logos entice him to smoke more he said, “ it certainly draws my attention that’s it available there!”
Advertorials in newspapers- With the advent of internet and social media the newspapers are struggling to add revenue. The newspaper does not and cannot charge the readers and hence the newspaper cost that we pay barely covers the printing costs. Hence to boost their profits, almost all newspapers have come out with an adage called advertorial (Ad- editorial).
According to Gehna Mehra, a lifestyle journalist, “Most of what goes into the supplement is paid for and the word advertorial appears on top of the page. Media net, Bombay times and HT café, ET panache are few examples”. This is done so that readers get a feeling of reading a real story whereas in reality the advertisers are swiftly incepting their brand and message in your brain.
As Mint newspaper writes, “From time to time, you will see a page or a feature in Mint clearly labelled as Media Marketing Initiative. Such content is entirely generated by an advertiser or Mint’s marketing department on behalf of an advertiser, and does not involve any editorial staff.”
Tax Havens: Apple, Microsoft, IBM, Cisco Systems, Hewlett-Packard and Google avoid taxes by using accounting tricks to make profits made in America appear to be generated in offshore tax havens—countries with minimal or no taxes. Mauritius, Cayman islands, British Virgin Islands are filled with shell/ hollow companies who are only present to take advantage of the tax benefit. So vast is this industry, that some of these countries economy is dependent on these arrangements.
These businessmen are geniuses and inspiration for smart people to get around the system. Having said that they do play with the overall policy and decorum of the society. Whether they are geniuses or cons is a matter of interpretation.
