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Customs probe alleged vehicle racket by state-bank subsidiary
Allegations that a subsidiary of a state-run bank is importing vehicles at undervalued prices and thus depriving the country of revenue are being probed by the Customs.
Customs officers on Thursday visited the head office of People’s Leasing PLC, a subsidiary of the People’s Bank, and another private company which imports vehicles on behalf of People’s Leasing clients.
The move came after several vehicle importers complained to the Customs that the company was selling vehicles at lower prices by under-declaring the value of the vehicles. They claimed that their businesses were affected due to this.A senior Customs officer said preliminary investigations had revealed that the leasing company had provided loan facilities to its clients to buy vehicles from the importer and thereby was avoiding the payment of taxes to the Customs.
He said, however, that they were investigating the complaints. People’s Leasing PLC reportedly introduces more than 100 clients a month to the importer.People’s Leasing Managing Director D.P. Kumarage confirmed that a team of Customs officers visited the head office. “It is too early to comment as there is an investigation pending,” he said.