Luxury car dealer arrested for Custom Duty evasion of 100 Cr: Know More

Basharath Khan, a luxury car trader from Hyderabad, was detained in Gujarat on suspicion of undervaluing expensive imported cars for allegedly evading customs duties worth Rs 100 crore. Khan allegedly falsified paperwork to import high-end vehicles from nations like Japan and the United States (US).

According to the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Basharath Khan ran a store in Hyderabad called “Car Lounge.” Khan avoided paying the real customs taxes by using fake paperwork and devalued invoices, according to officials.

The premium cars were initially brought from Japan and the United States, according to preliminary investigations. The steering systems of these vehicles were subsequently changed from left-hand drive to right-hand drive when they were shipped to Dubai or Sri Lanka.

Following these changes, fake documents were used to import the cars into India.

Authorities found that this illegal approach had been used to import at least 30 luxury cars. Among the models are high-end names like:

• Hummer EV
• Cadillac Escalade
• Rolls-Royce
• Lexus
• Toyota Land Cruiser
• Lincoln Navigator

Eight of these cars are believed to have been individually imported by Basharath Khan, who has run a luxury car business in Hyderabad, Telangana, for the past ten years, avoiding customs charges totalling more than Rs 7 Crores. Authorities also named Khan’s business partner, Dr. Ahmad, as an accomplice in the scheme. These illegally imported cars were allegedly kept in Dr. Ahmad’s farmhouse.

Investigations also showed that a large number of Basharath Khan’s customers paid with cash in order to avoid paying taxes. According to reports, the import network connected to this case spans Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune, and Ahmedabad. Officials revealed that Basharath Khan has been taken under judicial detention while the investigation is ongoing.