Tribune News Service
New Delhi, July 13
The Ministry of Finance today said it has slapped a notice on Chinese mobile maker Oppo, as Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has detected Customs duty evasion of Rs 4,389 crore against the company.
“After completion of the investigation, a show-cause notice has been issued to Oppo India, demanding Customs duty amounting to Rs 4,389 crore. The said notice also proposes relevant penalties on Oppo India, its employees and Oppo China, under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962,” the ministry said.
It further said, during an investigation of Oppo Mobiles India Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corporation Ltd, the DRI has detected Customs duty evasion of Rs 4,389 crore.
Searches were conducted by the DRI on the office premises of Oppo India and residences of its key officials, which led to the recovery of “incriminating evidence, indicating wilful misdeclaration in the description of certain items imported for use in the manufacture of mobile phones,” the Ministry of Finance said, adding: “This misdeclaration resulted in wrongful availment of ineligible duty exemption benefits by Oppo India amounting to Rs 2,981 crore.”
Among others, senior management employees and domestic suppliers of Oppo India were questioned, who in their voluntary statements accepted the submission of wrongful description before the Customs authorities at the time of import, it added.
The investigation also revealed that Oppo India had remitted/made provisions for payment of ‘royalty’ and ‘licence fee’ to various multinational companies, including those based in China, in lieu of the use of proprietary technology/brand/IPR licence etc, the ministry said.
“The said ‘royalty’ and ‘licence fees’ paid by Oppo India were not being added to the transaction value of the goods imported by them, in violation of provisions of the Customs Act. The alleged duty evasion by Oppo India on this account is Rs 1,408 crore,” it noted.
Findings of DRI investigation
- Searches on the office premises of Oppo India and residences of its key officials led to the recovery of incriminating evidence, indicating wilful misdeclaration in the description of certain items imported for use in the manufacture of mobile phones
- During the investigation, senior management employees and domestic suppliers of Oppo India were questioned, who in their voluntary statements accepted the submission of wrongful description before the Customs authorities at the time of import
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