DRI busts major multi-crore branded luxury furniture import racket

Business Standard

4 days ago

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has exposed a network involved in the massive undervaluation and misdeclaration of branded luxury furniture. This operation spanned multiple jurisdictions and involved dummy importers (IEC holders), local intermediaries, overseas shell entities, and fabricated invoices.
In a press statement on Tuesday, DRI said that acting on specific intelligence, its officials conducted searches at multiple locations, including business premises, warehouses, offices of freight forwarders, customs brokers, and associated entities.
'The investigation revealed that branded luxury furniture was being directly sourced by the beneficial importer from reputed Italian and other European suppliers. Invoicing was done in the names of shell companies based in jurisdictions such as Dubai. Simultaneously, fabricated invoices were obtained through a Singapore-based intermediary, in the names of dummy importers, falsely declaring the goods as unbranded furniture at significantly undervalued rates to Customs,' said the statement.
The DRI further added, 'Once cleared through Customs, the goods were transferred on paper to the intended beneficial owner via a local intermediary created for this purpose, while the goods were directly sent to the customer under the instructions of the beneficial owner.'
Preliminary findings indicate a gross undervaluation of 70 to 90 percent of the actual transaction value, resulting in estimated customs duty evasion of approximately Rs 30 crore.
'The beneficial owner, the dummy importer, and the intermediary have been found to be in complicity and close conspiracy for executing the entire modus operandi. On 21 and 22 July 2025, all three individuals were arrested by DRI under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962,' said the DRI statement.
Earlier in May 2025, DRI had uncovered a similar case involving the undervaluation of luxury furniture imports, using a front company managed by another entity to evade customs duties. This case involved duty evasion exceeding Rs 20 crore, leading to the arrest of three individuals.
'The DRI has stepped up its efforts to expose such commercial frauds, which not only result in significant losses to government revenue but also create market distortions and an uneven playing field for compliant importers and domestic manufacturers,' said a finance ministry statement.