DRI cracks down on undervaluation in high-end luxury car imports

High-end luxury cars were being imported by resorting to undervaluation to the extent of 50% by "mis-declaring the import value at the Indian ports" to evade the applicable customs duties, according to specific intelligence received by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI).

These luxury cars would first be transported to Dubai or Sri Lanka from the US and Japan, for the purpose of conversion from left to right-hand drive (RHD) and other modifications before being imported into India by mis-declaring the import value by using fabricated documents, the DRI alleged.

In the investigation, DRI ascertained that more than 30 luxury cars viz models like Hummer EV, Cadillac Escalade, Rolls Royce, Lexus, Toyota Land Cruiser and Lincoln Navigator have been imported by using the above modus operandi.

The importers involved are based in Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Delhi with estimated duty evasion of more than ₹25 crore.

The DRI has arrested one of the biggest importers involved in this commercial fraud, based in Hyderabad, who has imported 8 such high-end luxury cars involving customs duty evasion of more than ₹7 crore. The CJM Court, Ahmedabad has sent him to judicial custody.

Other importers & actual users of the imported cars on whose behalf these cars were imported are under the scanner of DRI.