Mumbai: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has arrested the proprietor of an import company for allegedly evading customs duty amounting to around Rs 7.7 crore by misdeclaring and undervaluing Chile-origin inshell walnuts. DRI officials said an investigation revealed that importer Gayatri Exports, in collusion with Dubai-based intermediary Rasheeda Foodstuff Trading LLC, deliberately suppressed true invoice values of approximately 611 metric tonnes of inshell walnuts to evade customs duty. During searches, the DRI recovered the original invoices from the Chilean suppliers. The undervalued invoices routed through Rasheeda Foodstuff Trading LLC showed a price reduction of 50%-70%. This practice enabled the importer to pay only 30%–50% of the actual duty, despite inshell walnuts attracting a 100% basic customs duty.Investigators identified Rasheeda Gulamally, partner of Rasheeda Foodstuff Trading LLC, as a key accused and intercepted her at Ahmedabad airport when she was travelling to the UAE. Though her voluntary statements were recorded, she failed to provide substantive clarifications or documents such as invoices, contracts, or bank statements. Instead, she attempted to shift responsibility to her husband, Gulamally Husain, who also ignored multiple summons issued by the DRI.Under the Customs Act, 1962, the goods are liable for confiscation under Section 111, while the accused face penal action under Sections 132 and 135 for deliberate misdeclaration and evasion.
