It is rare to come across such huge smuggling operations involving international connections
A massive luxury car smuggling racket has come to the fore in India. It is estimated that it resulted in losses to the exchequer worth over $3 million, which roughly translates to over Rs 25 Crore. That has to be one of the biggest rackets of recent times in India. The Indian automobile market is one of the biggest in the world. We know that top celebrities love to splurge on high-end luxury automobiles. However, some miscreants took advantage of this and exploited the loopholes in the system to smuggle expensive cars.
Luxury Car Smuggling Racket Uncovered
The specifics of this case stem from WION on YouTube. The reporter mentions that the Indian authorities have launched a crackdown on a network of importers accused of undervaluing luxury vehicles to evade customs duties. That is an immensely complicated process. The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence uncovered this scam involving more than 30 high-end cars. These even included top-notch vehicles like Rolls Royce, Porsche, etc. The accused imported these cars from the U.S. and Japan to intermediary destinations like Dubai and Sri Lanka.
This is where the magic happened. These cars were converted from Left Hand Drive to Right Hand Drive, suitable for the Indian market. Once the modification was complete, these cars were imported to India at lower values on the back of falsified documents. This resulted in drastically lower customs duties for the end buyers. At the Indian ports, the value of the cars was deliberately misdeclared. The major cities associated with this operation include Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad and Bangalore. Some arrests have already been made, and the investigation is still ongoing.
My View
This is a huge scam which was unearthed by the Indian authorities. Just to get these opulent vehicles at lower prices, people were willing to take the law into their own hands. I can only hope that the investigation is thorough and the culprits are punished as per the law. Also, this is a great time to review the import laws to cover any loopholes which enable such instances. I shall keep an eye out for more details in this regard in the times to come.
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