The main accused identified as Vijay Prajapati is says to have duped the department from 2011 till 2017 and managed to avail cash by giving fake documents
The Nhava Sheva police have booked a Customs House Agent (CHA) and his other accomplices for duping the customs department to the tune of Rs 77 lakh by submitting fake documents to get revenue deposits from the Jawaharlal Nehru Customs House. The main accused identified as Vijay Prajapati is said to have duped the department from 2011 till 2017 and managed to avail cash by giving fake documents.
According to the police, the complainant in the case, Sanjay Mhatre is a customs officers and works with the Special Investigation Department at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) at Nhava Sheva. After taking charge in September this year, Mhatre was asked to investigate the matter listed in a file which belonged to HCIL Comtel Ltd, a Gurugram based company. The file mentioned that the said company had imported electronics and communication related goods and materials from overseas from 2011 until 2014 using ships of the JNPT. As per the customs rules, companies who are into import-export lines working under the guidelines of Special Valuation Branch (SVB) of the Indian customs authorities have to pay 1% of their revenue to the department as revenue deposits which is refunded to the company within a span of one year after valuation process is done if it gives an application for refund.
"In 2017, HCIL applied for refund of revenue deposits at custom department for the 38 bill of entries under which the transactions happened. After scrutinizing the records, the authorities found that out of total 38 bill of entries, the revenue deposits for 33 bill of entries was submitted in the bank account of Customs Commissioner and the remaining deposit for the 5 bills were paid in the account of Assistant Commissioner. Total revenue deposit for 31 bills accounted for Rs 1,64,93,416 and refund for two bills was scraped off as it had crossed one year time limit," said a police officer.
After clearing the payments for 31 bills of entries, the customs authority before sanctioning the refund payment for five bills found that the revenue deposits were never actually credited to the department. Further investigation revealed that the payments were made into different bank accounts which never belonged to the customs department but they portrayed that the deposits were paid regularly and for getting the refund, they submitted fake documents to the concerned authorities.
"Prajapati and his other accomplices have been booked under section 34, 420, 465, 468 and 471 of the Indian Penal Code. It seems to be a big fraud but further investigation is underway," added the officer.
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