The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has arrested two chemical traders for allegedly evading customs duty by misdeclaring dutiable chemicals imported from China. Officials said the accused attempted to avoid payment of customs duty exceeding ₹10 crore and ₹12 crore, respectively, by concealing crucial details such as the country of origin and Bills of Lading.
The arrested persons have been identified as Ankit Mehta, Director of Chem Cart India, and Maulik Kothari, partner of M/s Aphrodite Foods LLP.
According to the DRI, specific intelligence revealed that Chem Cart India, based in Santacruz (East), had been importing instantised branched-chain amino acids (BCAA), instantised L-Leucine powder, instantised L-Isoleucine powder and Valine powder from Chinese suppliers since December 2021. The agency found that Chem Cart India allegedly evaded customs duty amounting to ₹10.85 crore, while Kothari’s firm is accused of evading customs duty of over ₹12 crore.
These products fall under Customs Tariff Heading (CTH) 21069099, which attracts a total customs duty of 82.9 per cent.
DRI officials intercepted the consignments and sent samples for laboratory examination. The investigation revealed that the accused allegedly colluded with Chinese suppliers to manipulate the Customs Tariff Heading and misdeclare the nature of the goods. Searches conducted at the offices of Mehta and Kothari led to the recovery of communications indicating that they had instructed suppliers to remove the term “instant/instantised” from invoices and labels, despite being aware that the goods were instantised products attracting a higher rate of duty.