Rs 1 cr central exice duty evasion unearthed

LUDHIANA: The Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence (DGECI) has discovered excise duty evasion to the tune of over Rs 1 crore by a Ludhiana-based furnace unit.

The central excise sleuths, who conducted raids at eight premises including residential complexes of the unit owner two days ago, found that he was removing 50 per cent output of steel ingots in a clandestine manner to evade excise duty, sources said.

The officials found a huge shortage of goods during the stock taking, Joint Director of Central Excise Intelligence Ajazuddin confirmed on the incident.

Investigation further indicated that after removing the goods from the factory without paying excise duty on the same, the accused was selling the rolled products made out of steel ingots to the local bicycle manufacturers.

The sources further informed that the owner was also maintaining a separate set of books for carrying out the illegal transactions.

After the raids, the accused has so far deposited Rs 17.5 lakh duty with the department.