Mumbai Customs fails to arrest a man and the seizure of more than 1,000 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarette tobacco still remains pending.
Mumbai Customs have an arrest warrant of a 20-year-old male who flew abroad shoreline above his arrest on 13th April and seizure of more than 1,000 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarette tobacco is still considered pending in action.
Case information
During an operation conducted in the wee hours of 12th April 2022 at the Terminal 2 of Jawaharlal Nehru Trust Port , Nava Seva Custom officers spotted a Mumbai-registered prime mover attached with a trailer and a MH-registered orange car parked back-to-back along the roadside. Officers moved in to conduct a check and found 1,000 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarette tobacco in the car. A man, who was the driver of the car, was interrogated . Investigations revealed that the duty-unpaid cigarette tobaccos in the car were retrieved from a modified compartment in the floorboard of the trailer.
The duty-unpaid cigarette tobaccos and the two vehicles were just about to get seized when the man used irrelevant documents, paper trailed the officers and successfully escaped. The total duty and Goods and Services tax (GST) evaded amounted to about ₹20.4L and ₹24.4L respectively. Court proceedings against the man are ongoing.
Buying, selling, conveying, delivering, storing, keeping, possessing or dealing with duty-unpaid goods are serious offences under the Customs Act and the GST Act. Offenders can be fined up to 40 times the amount of duty and GST evaded and/or jailed for up to six years. Vehicles used in the commission of such offences are liable to be forfeited.
The Consolidation Team is currently investigating the owner Ali F Patel who denies of being responsible for the mishap that took place at the trailer when the tobacco consignment was caught. The depositary account of the owner has been sealed and all his bank statements are being thoroughly examined by the team.
Mr. Ali F Patel had also registered for the AIEF (All India Export Federation) but currently due to the allegation his participation stands null and void until the complete section gets cleared and the committee accepts his entry.
The Federation of Indian Export Organisations represents the Indian entrepreneurs spirit of enterprise in the global market. Known popularly as “FIEO,
Federation of Indian Export Organisations popularly known as ‘FIEO’ is the apex body of the Government recognised Export Promotion Councils, Commodity Boards and Development Authorities in India. Set up in 1965 by Ministry of Commerce, Govt. of India to focus the efforts of all stakeholders engaged in promotion of trade from the country, Federation of Indian Export Organisation is partner of Govt. of India to boost International Trade from India. FIEO provides the crucial interface between International Trading community of India with the Central and State Governments, Financial Institutions, Ports, Railways, Surface Transport and all engaged in Export Trade Facilitation. The Federation of Indian export organisation directly and indirectly serves the interests of over 200,000 exporters from every Industry and Services sector in the country.