Customs probe business tycoons' jets for duty evasion

IT'S NOT RIGHT: Duty evasion came to light after a probe against a subsidiary of Reliance Industries.

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Keywords: Aircraft, Customs Duty

Mumbai: The Central Board of Excise and Customs have sent notices to several corporates across India for evasion of customs duty on import of private jets. The evasion amounting to several hundred crores of rupees came to light after two jets belonging to Reliance Industries were seized by the customs officials in Mumbai.

Now private jets belonging to the corporate honchos are under the customs scanner.

The evasion of customs duty came to light after an investigation against Reliance Commercial Private Developers Ltd, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, for evading customs duty of Rs 58 crore on the import of an Airbus 319 and a Falcon 900.

According to the rules corporate jets can be imported under two categories.

Jets imported under non-schedule category is used for renting out to a third party and attracts customs duty of 10 per cent while jets imported for personal use attract a higher customs duty of 18 per cent.

Customs department has alleged that corporate houses like Reliance evade eight per cent customs duty by importing planes meant for private use under the non-schedule category.

Meanwhile the planes seized by customs were handed back to Reliance after they furnished bank guarantees of Rs 58 crore.

Reliance in a statement has said, "They have fully complied with all procedures and documentation required as notified by the concerned authorities. The notices have been referred to legal experts for further evaluation."

The customs department is also expected to seek an explanation from the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on its failure to maintain records about the nature of use of aircraft after licenses have been issued.