AHMEDABAD: Huge margin, increasing demand in local markets and high customs duty have led to exponential increase in cigarette smuggling in the last few months. Gujarat is fast becoming a transit point for smugglers to illegally bring in cigarettes in the state.
Since March 2015, around 4.96 crore cigarette sticks worth Rs 37.29 crore have been seized by Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) and customs in Gujarat with over 90% of the hauls coming from Mundra port.
In the last fortnight, in two different seizures, around 86 lakh cigarette sticks worth Rs 6 crore have been seized by the Ahmedabad zonal unit of the DRI.The DRI sleuths busted the shipment of two containers carrying almost 61 lakh cigarettes at Mundra Port in Gujarat last week.
The cigarettes were brought from Dubai and were headed to Delhi. “In documents destination of containers was declared as Internal Container Depot ICD) Tughlaqabad and Patparganj in Delhi,” said a DRI official.
“On specific information, we examined these containers at Mundra port. In one of the containers the cigarettes were concealed behind gypsum slabs for false ceiling. The brands of cigarettes seized were Djarum Black and Gudang Garam,” said the official.
The DRI official said the high rate of customs and excise duty on imported cigarettes makes smuggling a lucrative option.”These cigarettes attract 90% customs duty. Also, in the recent Indian budget, the excise duty on cigarettes was hiked by 25% .A packet of foreign cigarette available for Rs 100 per pack in Dubai is sold for Rs 190 in India due o high customs duty,” added the official.
According to sources in the DRI, there is a network of exporters and importers in Dubai and India for the illegal smuggling of foreign-brand cigarettes in India.
Earlier on November 4, the DRI had seized 25 lakh cigarettes worth Rs 1.5 crore at Mundra port.
