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The Department of Revenue inquiry report on the allegations of irregularities in Chennai Customs by M/s Wintrack Inc indicated the possibility of cheating and private fraud by the importer's own agents, according to the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC).
In a post on X, the department stated that, based on the report's findings, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs has initiated a thorough investigation, expected to be completed within 4-6 weeks, to probe alleged irregularities. To ensure the investigation is credible, fair, and impartial, CBIC has relieved the officers identified in the report of their current responsibilities with immediate effect and posted them out of the jurisdiction. The department stated, "The report also indicates the possibility of cheating and private fraud by the importer's own agents and intermediaries". The department also informed that the license of the Customs Broker Agent named in the report has been suspended under Regulation 16 of the Customs Brokers Licensing Regulations, 2018, pending the final outcome of the vigilance investigation. A police complaint has also been lodged against the unauthorised intermediaries. Further, the CBIC noted that it is constituting a Task Force under Member (Customs) to take further corrective operational measures. These include a comprehensive review of all pending cases to ensure consistent, transparent and legally correct application of regulations, with particular attention to MSMEs and small-scale importers. The measures also focus on preventing misuse of authority or retribution against complainants, ensuring anonymity in faceless assessment, restricting access to Customs locations to authorised CHAs, strengthening grievance redressal systems, and publicly disclosing updates through Customs portals. Earlier, on 1st October, in a social media post, the company, Wintrack Inc., stated that it would cease import and export operations from India due to harassment by Chennai customs officials. "From October 1, 2025, our company will cease import/export activities in India. For the past 45 days, Chennai Customs officials have relentlessly harassed us. After exposing their bribery practices twice this year, they retaliated, effectively crippling our operations and destroying our business in India. We deeply thank everyone who has supported us during these difficult times," Wintrack Inc. said in a post on X. In another post by Wintrack Inc on 2nd October, its founder, Prawin Ganesha,n posted a video describing the "sequence of events leading to our closure". He urged people to join together to "abolish corrupt hands" on Gandhi Jayanti. "I will stay alive, I will survive, never give up. On this Gandhi Jayanthi, let's join together to reduce and eliminate corrupt practices. I have lost my health, got stress, still a little left," the post said. In the accompanying video, Ganeshan recounted incidents beginning in January when, "after refusing to pay an alleged bribe on a shipment", he recorded a call with an agent and shared it publicly. "Subsequently, the shipment was released and the issue was solved," he said, noting that he had even thanked the customs officials at the time. However, Ganeshan said that problems resurfaced between May and August. He claimed that bribe demands escalated and that shipments were repeatedly delayed or held up. He alleged the use of abusive language and repeated obstacles to his consignments. Ganeshan added that he attempted imports through a new company registered in his wife's name, but faced similar demands and delays. "I decided I'm no longer going to do business in India in the form of importer, exporter, anything... I just appeal to all the importers and exporters, if each one of you also raises your voice against this kind of bribery and corruption, then only everything can be abolished," he said in the video. (ANI)
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