1 week ago
Mumbai DRI Arrests Importer in TCCA Duty Evasion Case
India’s customs intelligence agency arrested a 25-year-old importer in Mumbai.
The agency says the importer avoided paying about ₹4.77 crore in extra import duty.
This duty applied to TCCA chemicals made in China.
Investigators believe the chemicals were sent from China to Malaysia first.
They say new paperwork then made the goods appear to come from Malaysia.
The importer’s lawyer disagrees with this claim.
The lawyer says the chemicals actually came from Indonesia.
The true origin of the goods will be decided by the appropriate authority.
Mumbai DRI arrested a 25-year-old partner of a Bengaluru-based private company.
The agency alleges the importer evaded approximately ₹4.77 crore in Anti-Dumping Duty.
DRI suspects Chinese-origin TCCA was routed through Malaysia with altered origin documents.
The Malaysian supplier was reportedly a metal-products trader, not a chemical manufacturer.
The importer’s lawyer denies Chinese origin and says the goods came from Indonesia.
- Who
- Mumbai’s Directorate of Revenue Intelligence arrested a 25-year-old partner of a Bengaluru-based private company; the importer’s lawyer is Ravi Hirani.
- What
- The importer was arrested over an alleged ₹4.77 crore evasion of Anti-Dumping Duty on TCCA imports.
- Where
- The arrest was made by the Mumbai Unit of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence; the company is based in Bengaluru.
- When
- The arrest was reported on August 21, 2026.
- Why
- DRI alleges that Chinese-origin TCCA was declared as Malaysian-origin goods to avoid the applicable duty, while the defence says the goods originated in Indonesia.
DRI’s Allegations
Importer’s Defence
Country of origin
DRI’s Allegations
DRI alleges the TCCA was manufactured in China, shipped to Malaysia, and falsely documented as Malaysian-origin goods before being sent to India.
Importer’s Defence
Defence lawyer Ravi Hirani says the goods were of Indonesian origin, not Chinese origin.
Duty evasion
DRI’s Allegations
The agency says the importer knowingly mis-declared the goods’ origin to evade approximately ₹4.77 crore in Anti-Dumping Duty.
Importer’s Defence
The defence rejects the allegation and says the importer will establish the goods’ true origin before the appropriate authority.
Malaysian supplier
DRI’s Allegations
DRI says the supplier traded in metal products, lacked the profile of a chemical manufacturer, and had not supplied TCCA to Indian importers before the duty was imposed.
Importer’s Defence
The defence’s stated position is that the goods originated in Indonesia, rather than addressing DRI’s characterization of the Malaysian supplier.
Key facts
- Agency
- Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Mumbai Unit
- Arrested person
- A 25-year-old partner of a Bengaluru-based private company
- Product
- TCCA chemical
- Alleged duty evasion
- Approximately ₹4.77 crore
- DRI’s alleged origin
- China, routed through Malaysia
- Defence’s claimed origin
- Indonesia
- Duty
- Anti-Dumping Duty imposed on the relevant TCCA imports after March 2025
Quotes
A DRI source
A source familiar with the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence investigation
“The investigation has brought on record that the goods imported under the contracts with the Malaysian supplier were originally manufactured in China and were shipped from China to Malaysia, where fresh documentation including Certificate of Origin was arranged before onward shipment to India. It has further emerged that the arrested person was aware of the ADD applicable to Chinese-origin TCCA and that the Malaysian documentation enabled import of the goods without payment of the applicable ADD”
freepressjournal.in
Ravi Hirani
Advocate representing the arrested importer
“The defence categorically denies that the goods belong to China. It is maintained that the goods originated from Indonesia. My client will establish and prove the true origin of the goods before the appropriate authority”
freepressjournal.in
Sources
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