Luxury car import scam: Hyderabad dealer arrested in Rs. 7 crore customs fraud

Hyderabad: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has arrested a major importer based in Hyderabad involved in customs fraud related to the import of high-end luxury cars. According to the information, Basharath Ahmed Khan, the owner of Car Lounge in Hyderabad, imported eight luxury cars, evading customs duties worth over Rs. 7 crores. The CJM Court in Ahmedabad has remanded him to judicial custody.

According to intelligence gathered by DRI, these luxury cars were imported using undervaluation, with the declared value being reduced by as much as 50%. The mis-declaration of import values at Indian ports allowed the importers to evade the applicable customs duties. The cars were first shipped to Dubai or Sri Lanka from the USA or Japan, where modifications were made to convert them from left-hand drive to right-hand drive. The importers then misrepresented the value of the vehicles using forged documents before bringing them into India.

During the investigation, it was found that over 30 luxury cars, including models such as the Hummer EV, Cadillac Escalade, Rolls Royce, Lexus, Toyota Land Cruiser, and Lincoln Navigator, were imported using this method. The scheme involved importers based in Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, and Delhi, with an estimated duty evasion of over Rs. 25 crores. Other importers and end-users of these vehicles are also under investigation by DRI.