CHENNAI: Wintrack Inc founder Prawin Ganeshan said that two of his company’s shipments are stuck in Chennai Customs as the company awaits the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) certificate from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
Speaking to TNIE over phone, Ganeshan said, “One shipment of body massage products worth around $9,300 (nearly Rs 8 lakh) has been held at a bonded warehouse for the past two months. Another consignment belonging to other family members, valued at $14,000, is also pending clearance. We are waiting for the EPR certificate since products containing plastic, batteries, or e-waste require approval from federal agencies before release. I am hopeful that the consignments will be released after Diwali or by month-end.”
He added that if air freight charges are included, the total value of the shipments would go up to Rs 30 lakh.
On the ongoing inquiry into his allegations that certain Customs officials demanded bribes, Ganeshan said, “The CBIC has completed its inquiry. We filed a complaint against some officials, a Customs House Agent (CHA), and a few unauthorised agents who were seeking money for clearing goods. These unauthorised, unrecognised agents demand bribes, and we have no idea who they are paying or which officials might be involved.”
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) on Sunday issued a press statement saying that two officials — Principal Commissioner of Chennai Airport Customs M.G. Thamizh Valavan and Deputy Commissioner Harendra Singh Pal — have been transferred to the Directorate General of Taxpayer Services (DGTS) and the Directorate General of Performance Management (DGPM), respectively.
On October 11, the CBIC posted on X (formerly Twitter) that the Department of Revenue (DoR) inquiry had found prima facie evidence warranting a detailed vigilance probe. The investigation is expected to be completed within four to six weeks.
Ganeshan further said that until May–June this year, the company had been regularly paying bribes to these “unauthorised agents”. “In June, they demanded a higher bribe amount, which we refused to pay. Since then, we have been facing problems — our consignments were held up by Customs. They are stopping our shipments so that we lose clients and incur business losses. The future is uncertain for us,” he said.
He added that he plans to lodge a criminal complaint against the CHA and the unauthorised agents for fraud and cheating in the name of Customs officials, saying their actions are bringing “a bad reputation to the Government of India.”
Earlier, Wintrack Inc had created a stir by announcing that it would suspend all export-import operations in India from October 1, alleging harassment by Customs officials. The company claimed that after it exposed instances of bribery, it faced retaliatory actions that severely impacted its ability to conduct business.
