CFO of Future Group Arrested by DRI for Customs Duty Invasion

Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has arrested Dinesh Maheshwari, the chief financial officer (CFO) of Future Enterprises Ltd, for alleged evasion of customs duty to the tune of Rs 14.58 crore.

Future Enterprise, which develops, owns and leases the retail infrastructure for Kishore Biyani-controlled Future Group was importing readymade garments from Bangladesh through Petrapole Land Customs Station (LCS) without payment of basic customs duty, availing of the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) benefit, the agency said in a statement.

“He (Maheshwari) appears to be the main person responsible for the evasion of duty to the tune of Rs 14.58 crore by Future Enterprises Ltd. He appears to be guilty of an offence punishable under Section 135 of the Customs Act and has, therefore, been arrested under Section 104 of the Customs Act, on July 12,” it said.

Investigations further revealed that the garments were supplied by third country suppliers based in Dubai and Singapore, but were delivered from Bangladesh after minimal processing, the DRI statement added.

To recall, in last month Commissionerate of Vadodara, Gujarat has unearthed a ₹ 40 crore (~ US$5.75 Mn ) goods and services tax (GST) scam in Vadodara, Gujarat-based Manpasand Beverages Ltd (MBL), which is backed by private equity firm SAIF Partners, which hold 25% stake in the company.