The Directorate of Revenue and Intelligence (DRI) on Friday blew up a luxury car smuggling that involves the abuse of diplomatic privileges with the arrest of three people, including Nipun Miglani, an executive at Gurugram-based luxury car dealership Big Boy Toyz, with the Matter familiar to the agency said.
DRI said in a statement that the defendants have imported and then sold around 20 luxury cars, including Range Rover and Prados, on behalf of diplomats, at least evading customs duties ₹25 million euros.
A Dubai-based man who has been involved in customs extortion and was previously investigated by DRI is behind the entire brawl but has yet to be caught, the statement said.
According to the statement, upon receiving specific details of such a luxury car imported on behalf of a Delhi-based diplomat of an African nation, DRI launched an operation code-named “Operation Monte Carlo” and guarded the vehicle upon arrival at the port. It turned out that the vehicle was loaded onto a transport vehicle and taken to a showroom in Andheri, Mumbai, where it was on display.
Searches were then carried out in seven cities and six luxury cars were recovered.
Explaining the defendants’ modus operandi, DRI said, “A Dubai-based mastermind would arrange for luxury cars to be imported into India from countries such as the UK, Japan and the United Arab Emirates on behalf of diplomats.”
The actual buyers of the vehicles would be identified by Miglani. “Upon arrival in India, these vehicles would be brought straight to the city of the buyer or a luxury car dealer. Domestic registration for these vehicles would be done at certain Regional Transportation Offices (RTOs) in Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. Once the registration formalities are completed, these cars, which circumvented the full 204% tariff, would be sold to Indian buyers, generating a huge profit at the expense of government revenues, ”the DRI statement added.
Big Boy Toyz founder and managing director Jatin Ahuja told HT that his company has dismissed Miglani as CEO with immediate effect and that a police complaint is also being filed against him to protect the company’s interests.
“We have absolutely no idea what Nitin Miglani did in his personal capacity outside of office hours, but Big Boy Toyz doesn’t matter and not a single customer of the company has been affected (by his activities). We weren’t even aware of it, ”said Ahuja.
He added that BBT is not getting into the auto import business.
A statement from Big Boy Toyz said, “Mr. Nipun Miglani, an employee of the organization … has carried out certain transactions in his individual capacity and without the knowledge and consent of the management of Big Boy Toyz. Mr. Nipun Miglani is released with immediate effect & BIG BOY TOYZ assumes no liability or responsibility for his alleged individual transactions. It is known to the general public that Big Boy Toyz Ltd. is not liable for whatever Mr. Nipun Miglani has done in his individual capacity. “
Aside from Miglani, DRI has also arrested Liyakat Bachau Khan, an employee of the Dubai-based mastermind, and Suriya Arjunan, a Bengaluru-based financier who financed the purchase of vehicles before handing them over to individuals in India, an official said did not want to be named.
DRI said imports by foreign diplomats and missions in India are regulated by the 1957 Regulation of Customs Privileges. The net tariff on imports of cars is 204%, but the law exempts certain categories of members of diplomatic missions in India and their families from tariffs on all imported goods.
The agency said the “investigation is likely to identify more players from this racket in the coming days”.
“It is estimated that over 20 luxury vehicles have been smuggled into India on behalf of diplomats in the past 5 years, resulting in more than ₹25 crore, ”added the statement.