Kolkata, March 15 (IANS): The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on Saturday claimed to have busted a Kolkata-based syndicate for allegedly availing Rs 4.9 crore irregular export incentives through fraudulent and over-valued exports of garments to Dubai from Chennai. One person has been arrested.

The DRI had initiated investigation against some Kolkata-based exporters for availing undue export incentives in the form of drawback on readymade garments exported through the Chennai port.

It searched the Bentinck Street office of JHM Import Export and seized some documents. On scrutiny of the documents, it was found that during January and February 2017, the company had exported 56 consignments declared as 'fancy woven kurti of manmade fibre' to Dubai through the Chennai Port.

Total value of goods declared in the shipping bill was Rs 23,10,97,961 on which Rs 2,82,49,544 export incentive, including drawback and RoSL (return of state levy), was received by them, said a DRI source.

Scrutiny of the tax invoices of supplies of the exported garments revealed that those were procured from several suppliers. But most of the so-called suppliers were non-existent and the rest admitted they only generated false documents to show supply of goods to the company.

The export goods were shown to have been transported from Kolkata to Chennai by two transporters. Investigation revealed that vehicles shown to have been used for transportation from Kolkata to Chennai were actually three-wheelers, tractors, fire tenders, which were not meant for carriage of goods over long distances.

"Thus, it's clear that neither the goods were supplied by the so-called suppliers nor were those transported to Chennai for export," the source said.

The office of JHM Logistics, situated in the same building, was also searched. Both entities are related concerns, controlled by same director Md. Mehedi Hasan.

The DRI personnel seized some documents related to similar export of readymade garments through the Chennai port and found that the export goods were also procured from the same suppliers as that of JHM Import Export.

Total 43 consignments were shown to have been exported by JHM Logistics between August and December 2016 and the company availed Rs 2,07,22,077 export incentives.

During one such raid in November, loose and bundles of currency notes of various denominations - Rs 2,000, Rs 500 and Rs 100 - were thrown from one of the offices and local shopkeepers, residents and commuters rushed in to collect them.

"The DRI investigation reveals that goods were not at all transported from West Bengal to Chennai, contrary to the declaration by the exporter. Further, cheap quality goods were found to have been exported by overvaluing export price by 25-50 times to earn undue drawback and other export incentives," the source said.

On Thursday, when Hasan came to the DRI office after failing to respond to several summons, and was confronted with evidences, he admitted that "he had exported the said goods to earn undue export incentive".

Hasan was arrested under the Customs Act.