The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has dismantled a major network involved in importing South-East Asian areca nuts into India by falsely declaring them as being of Bangladeshi origin and fraudulently availing concessional duty benefits under the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA).
The Finance Ministry said the investigation has so far revealed a potential revenue loss of more than Rs 2500 crore. Nine persons have been arrested in connection with the case.
Import of areca nuts into India attracts a Basic Customs Duty of 100 per cent. However, eligible imports under the SAFTA agreement are exempt from customs duty. Areca nuts originating in Bangladesh qualify for the exemption, provided the imports meet the prescribed Rules of Origin criteria.
The DRI said intelligence gathered during the investigation indicated that certain syndicates were fraudulently claiming SAFTA benefits on a large scale. The syndicates were importing areca nuts originating from Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and other South-East Asian countries, but declaring their country of origin as Bangladesh while importing them into India.
Based on the intelligence inputs, the DRI conducted simultaneous searches at multiple premises linked to importers, Customs Brokers and IEC holders in Kolkata and Visakhapatnam. Several incriminating documents and other evidence establishing the South-East Asian origin of the areca nuts were recovered. DRI officers also seized around seventy-five lakh rupees in cash, suspected to be the sale proceeds of the illegally imported goods. In addition, a live consignment of around one hundred sixty metric tonnes of areca nuts was intercepted and seized. The investigation is continuing to identify other members of the syndicate and determine the full extent of the revenue loss. Saklen Akhtar, Akashvani News
