‘Rs 2,217-crore Customs duty evasion’: DRI discover to Vivo India

In one other case of tax evasion towards a Chinese cellphone maker, the Finance Ministry on Wednesday mentioned that the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has detected customs responsibility evasion of round Rs 2,217 crore by Vivo India, a subsidiary of China-based Vivo Communication Technology.

A showcause discover has been issued to the corporate for misdeclaration that resulted in alleged wrongful availment of ineligible responsibility exemption advantages by Vivo India, amounting to Rs 2,217 crore. Queries despatched to Vivo India by The Indian Express had been unsanswered by press time.

“During the course of investigation, searches were conducted by DRI officers at the factory premises of M/s Vivo India, which led to the recovery of incriminating evidence indicating wilful mis-declaration in the description of certain items imported by M/s Vivo India, for use in the manufacture of mobile phones. This mis-declaration resulted in wrongful availment of ineligible duty exemption benefits by M/s Vivo India, amounting to Rs 2,217 crore,” the Finance Ministry assertion mentioned.

It added that the corporate has “voluntarily deposited” Rs 60 crore in direction of discharge of their differential responsibility legal responsibility.

Vivo Mobile India Pvt Ltd, or Vivo India, is a subsidiary firm of Vivo Communication Technology Co Ltd, Guangdong, China, and is engaged within the enterprise of producing, assembling, wholesale buying and selling in addition to distribution of cell handsets and equipment.

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Last month, in one other set of investigations carried out by the DRI, a showcause discover demanding an obligation of Rs 4,389 crore was issued to Oppo Mobiles India Pvt Ltd. The tax authorities had alleged responsibility evasion by misdeclaration of imports by Oppo India together with alleging that the corporate has made provisions for cost of “royalty” and “licence fee” to numerous multinational corporations, together with these based mostly in China, in lieu of use of proprietary know-how/ model/IPR licence and so forth.