Surat centre of Rs100 crore EXIM scam

Surat is believed to be the hub for a major export-import (EXIM) scam which was unearthed by the officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) this week. Around 30 business houses dealing in textiles are said to involved in the scam. The Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has also come under the spotlight due to the swindle!

DRI officials say they found nearly 30 textile traders exporting, under the guise of technical textiles, polyester fibers which are used in a wide variety of applications including roads, buildings, tents, fishing nets and defence uniforms, among others. The government of India gives 2% rebate on the export of technical textiles.

"However, it was found that the traders had claimed the rebates despite exporting only polyester fibers. In Surat alone, we found Rs60 crore of such rebates claimed by the exporters, while another Rs40 crore has been traced to Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai among other cities," claimed a DRI official.

Sources said that doubts have been raised about the DGFT's role, as it is the DGFT that issues licenses to exporters of technical textiles after verification. Further, before issuing such licences, the DGFT has to check the shipping bill of the trader issued by the customs department. During the investigation, the officials didn't find a single shipping bill for a technical textile being imported from Surat.

Eight exporters involved in this mammoth scam are said to have paid back over Rs7 crore while the investigation is still on.