CBIC suspends licenses of 56 customs agents linked to fraudulent exporters

Upon investigation by 62 customs agents, they were found to have handled more than 15,290 export shipments from 1,431 untraceable exporters.

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) said on Sunday it suspended the licenses of 56 customs agents linked to fraudulent exporters. The General Directorate for Risk Analysis and Management (DGARM) had carried out data analysis of customs agents linked to fraudulent or unscrupulous exporters and the findings have resulted in the suspension of licenses of 56 customs agents.

“The licenses of 56 customs agents, including those of 37 from Delhi, have been suspended from August 2019 to date,” the CBIC said in a statement. Upon investigation of 62 customs agents, they were found to have handled more than 15,290 export shipments from 1,431 untraceable exporters.

In one particular case, a customs broker has handled the exports of 99 untraceable exporters who claimed Rs 121.79 crore for IGST reimbursement. “The activities of these customs agents were under strong suspicion for quite some time and officials were able to block IGST’s reimbursement of Rs 226 million in these cases until now,” the CBIC said.

While 56 of them have had their licenses suspended, the rest are under further investigation. The suspended customs agents would no longer be able to conduct business transactions. “An alert has been inserted for the examination of 100 percent of all import shipments, considering the probability of negligence in imports, as well as by dubious customs agents,” added the CBIC. As of mid-July, there were 7,516 exporters on the CBIC’s ‘risk exporters’ list.