New Delhi: The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has informed the Department of Commerce that it has seized some consignments in connection with under-invoicing of imports from China, according to a government official.
The commerce department had flagged the issue of under-invoicing from China with the revenue department. While action is underway in the identified cases, the CBIC has also increased risk-profiling for some consignments, the official said.
“We have flagged the issue with the Customs and Revenue Department. The response we’ve got is that they are taking action for some consignments that have increased risk-profiling… to identify consignments where the under-invoicing is potentially high. Initial reports suggest that some seizures are taking place,” the official said.
Peppermint It has previously reported that there was a $12 billion gap between the trade data released by China and India during the first nine months of 2022, causing losses to the Indian exchequer.
The Directorate General of Valuation under CBIC has found that during April-July this year, stainless steel flat products of J3 grade were imported at an average price of Rs. 87 per kg as against the like product of 201 grade being imported at an average price of Rs. 163 per kg.
Also, like products of 201 and J3 Dual Grade were imported at an average price of 149 per kg.
The government is understood to be working on a valuation study to sensitize officials to prevent under-valuation.
According to reports, consignments related to under-invoicing of imports from China under the government’s tax scanner are mostly electronic goods, gadgets and metals. Under-invoicing is done to avoid custom duty.
Peppermint Reported on 3 November about the mystery of the disappearance of $12 billion in India-China trade in the January to September period.
While China claimed trade with India to reach $103 billion in the first nine months of 2022, Indian data show that bilateral trade stood at just $91 billion. This is largely believed to be due to under-invoicing of shipments by Indian importers to avoid paying import duties.
Last year, while Beijing claimed it was India’s largest trading partner, New Delhi countered that the US remained its largest trading partner.
Emailed queries to the ministries of commerce and industry and finance remained unanswered till press time.
The difference in trade figures reported by the two countries has widened from $5.2 billion in 2018 to nearly $12 billion now.
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