In three separate operations during the past eight days, the Customs officials at Nhava Sheva port in Navi Mumbai have intercepted at least seven containers which had mis-declared goods, or goods which had point of origin wrongly declared to evade customs duty. The goods contained fruits, rock pink salt and padlocks, hookah and other items.
Speaking about the operations, a Customs official said that, the Special Investigation and Intelligence Branch (SIIB) (Import), on March 21, had intercepted four containers declared to have contained 53.6 metric tonnes of fresh Kiwi of Italian origin loaded from Jebel Ali Port in United Arab Emirates (UAE).
"However, on examination of the said containers, pellets containing Kiwi revealed the evidence of Iranian origin marks, which is banned for imports in India with effect from December 07, last year," said a Customs official,
He added, "On March 17, based on specific input, the Customs officials had intercepted two containers declared to have contained 54.9 metric tonnes of Pink Salt of UAE origin. However, on examination, the goods were found as Rock Pink Salt in different shapes and sizes of Pakistani Origin which attracts Basic Customs duty of 200 percent on import."
On March 14, based on specific input, the Customs officials had intercepted one container having padlocks, bags, hookah, leggings, baby bicycle, etc. "On examination, the goods were found to be grossly undervalued and mis-declared with kids toy scooter and a bike which are prohibited without Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) circumvention, officials said.
