The Revenue and Customs office in Phuentsholing confiscated a consignment worth about Nu.2,60,000 on Monday. The Indian merchant involved in the act was trying to deflect the consignment to Jaigaon from Bhutan. The consignment was seized by the customs officials after a tip off.
The 191 boxes of goods consisted grocery items like butter and noodles.
Customs officials said business men from across the border usually deflect goods in order to evade taxes. They said there are some items from India, which are tax free for Bhutan but are levied taxes in India.
The head of Regional Revenue Customs office in Phuentsholing, Kush Chhetri, said since Bhutan is going through rupee crunch, the businessmen in Jaigaon are trying to use up Bhutanese currency they have. “They buy from Bhutan and try and sell those goods in Jaigaon.”
He however, added that such commercial frauds like deflection, over and under valuation have decreased as compared to the months of March and April, when the government started controlling the flow of Indian currency.
From about one case a day then, it has now reduced to about ten cases in a month. Meanwhile, with lack of manpower, strict vigilance over such activities still remains a challenge.
“We have a congested exit gate where vehicles ply in and out in a constant manner. And it is very difficult to stop a vehicle even if we are suspicious because that will impact the traffic across the town,” said Kush Chettri.
Till date, the office has seized consignments worth about Nu.10 million from cases like deflection and import of restricted items from India and third country.
