DRI uncovers Rs 2,500 crore duty evasion

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has uncovered a large-scale duty evasion racket involving areca nuts imported into India from South-East Asian countries. By falsely declaring Bangladesh as the country of origin, the syndicates allegedly caused a potential customs revenue loss of over Rs 2,500 crore. The operation led to the arrest of nine individuals, seizure of Rs 75 lakh in cash, and approximately 160 metric tonnes of areca nuts.

The investigation revealed that the syndicates were exploiting duty exemptions under the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) agreement and using fraudulent SAFTA Certificates of Origin obtained from Bangladeshi authorities.

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