Siliguri Tea Auction Centre was inaugurated on 29th October 1976 in presence of the then
Chief Minister of West Bengal, Late Siddhartha Shankar Roy and other Central and State Ministers.
At the beginning on 29th October, 1976 we had 16 Seller Members, 132 Buyer Members & 7 Broker Members
with a total registered Warehouse area of 39,726 sq.ft for storing teas. Now in the year 2016 there
are 595 Seller Members, 433 Buyer Members and 11 Broker Members. The Center has registered Warehouse
space of 792375 sq.ft for storing 10 lakh packages of tea at a time. Siliguri Tea Auction Centre is
the third largest Tea Auction Centre in India in considering the volume of tea selling in a year.
A record quantity of 1266 lakh kg (127 million kg) of tea was sold during the year 2015, worth Rs.1518 crore.
The Auction system in India is very old introduced in Calcutta Tea Auction
Centre 154 years ago, in the year 1861. The age of old manual outcry Auction system had been converted to Electronic
Auction System during the year 2010. All the Auction procedures are now being done through Computer. The motivation
behind converting the manual Auction to an online Electronic one is to enhance competition increase exposure,
transparency in the system and reduce logistical costs. It increases the number of participation to access from
anywhere in India for purchasing tea through a centralized data base programme developed by NSEIT. All business
transactions are being made through Bank electronically (RTGS/NEFT) under settlement Banking System.
The e-auction System is now renamed as PAN India Auction System by Tea Board to facilitate the all India tea
Buyers to purchase tea from their place through uniform electronic Auction system followed by all Auction Centers
in India.
At the beginning 1 or 2 Transporters and 1 Courier Companies were operating in Siliguri for
transporting tea and trade samples to up country Buyers and major Blenders. At present there are about 38 Transporter
Companies and 26 Courier Companies operating at Siliguri to transport tea in each and every corner of India within 7
days of time from the date of sale of tea in this Tea Auction Centre. This is possibly the fastest delivery network
amongst the Auction Centers in India. Some major Blenders and many local Packeteers are purchasing through this Auction
Centre and make their own blend for packeting at Siliguri and selling to up country customers. About 40,000 persons or
more are employed directly or indirectly in the tea trading at Siliguri.