Officials of Kandla Special Investigation Branch (SIB) seized 65 containers of Italian-made marble stone worth Rs 2.57 crore at Mundra port. The actual quantity in the containers, belonging to different importers, were found to be much higher than that indicated in the bill of entry (B/E). An alert has also been issued at all ports of the country, where container cargoes are handled.



The centre has restricted the import of marble and only importers with Special Import Licence (SIL) have the permission to import. However, even though it is imported under SIL, marble invites a customs duty. To pay less duty, many importers declare a less amount in the B/E.



"We had maintained an alert after receiving a tip-off of some misappropriation taking place in the import of Italian marbles. Hence, we randomly checked a container and tallied its weight with that of B/E and found a much higher quantity of the stone in the container," said an officer from Kandla customs department. "Following this discrepancy, we are weighing all 65 containers belonging to 40 importers."



"Most of these importers are from Kishangadh in Rajasthan and some from Mumbai. Once all containers are checked, the exact duty evasion figure would be ascertained," the officer added. It's also come to light after primary assessment that in the past three months as many as 200 B/Es have been assessed at Mundra.