NEW YORK: Central Bureau of Investigation on Friday arrested an Inland Container Depot (ICD) Customs Commissioner and his deputy for allegedly helping an exporter claim custom duty drawback through illegal means, causing a loss of about Rs.75 crore to the exchequer. The businessman has also been arrested.
The agency is also examining the role of some officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, which had initially unearthed the nexus. Based on the DRI input, the CBI had earlier this week registered the case against Customs Commissioner Atul Dixit, Deputy Commissioner Nalin Kumar and businessman Sahdev Gupta. Both the government officials are presently posted at ICD Tughlakabad in South Delhi.
Preliminary investigations revealed Mr. Gupta had allegedly shown export of garments worth Rs.8,000 crore to some firms in Hong Kong and Dubai during 2013-14 and on that basis he claimed a refund of Rs.300 crore as duty drawback under the Customs Act.
The DRI found that the foreign companies had not received any such consignment, raising suspicion. Subsequently, the agency requested the Customs Department to not release duty drawback to Mr. Gupta’s company.
However, it is alleged that the customs officials deliberately delayed the implementation, which allowed Mr. Gupta to get a refund of Rs.74.61 crore.
“Though the DRI detected the case first, an expeditious action by some officials could have prevented the loss,” said a CBI official.
During searches, the CBI allegedly seized Rs.85 lakh in cash from a locker operated by the Deputy Commissioner. “Jewellery and documents of three properties located in Gurgaon, Greater Noida and Lucknow, worth crores, were seized from the premises of Mr. Dixit,” said the official.
