Cellphone importers under DRI lens for misusing South Asian FTAs’ route

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, the country’s primary anti-smuggling intelligence agency, is investigating whether some mobile phone importers misused foreign trade agreements (FTAs) with South Asian countries to escape taxes.

DRI has started issuing notices to phone importers. According to agency insiders, though no major cellphone manufacturer has been named or served a notice yet, the investigations could lead to that. “The suspicion is that many importers are routing Chinese cellphones,” said a person with direct knowledge of the matter. “These cellphones are not manufactured in Indonesia or Thailand, but merely shipped, or assembled and shipped, to India,” the person told ET on condition of anonymity.