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Customs bust major online vehicle racket
Customs have busted a major online vehicle-import racket involving a nonexistent company which was working in connivance with a leasing company owned by a leading private bank, a Customs official said.Vehicles had been advertised online in the name of a dummy company at slashed prices which were about Rs. 300,000 less than the market price of a vehicle. Customs spokesman Leslie Gamini said they were probing the transaction which had resulted in huge losses to the country due to nonpayment of levies. This racket had been going on for the past six months, he said.
The company in Ratmalana had been closed down several years ago after it went bankrupt. The online racketeers had used the name of this company to advertise vehicles online and imported them. They had evaded the paying of taxes by using various loopholes in the Customs laws. Some senior officials at the Sampath Leasing Company had allegedly arranged the finance facility through the Sampath Bank. A senior bank official who was contacted yesterday declined to comment. Customs has removed several files and computers from the company for further investigations after the alleged tax racket came to light.
Meanwhile, other car traders say they import vehicles paying large sums as Customs and other duties but they cannot sell them because of such rackets.
An importer said the racketeers had apparently made huge profits by hoodwinking the Customs.
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