Click to play videoMumbai: Wipro has been served with a showcause notice by the Customs department because Wipro Consumer Care was allegedly importing Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs - which are energy savers) in knocked down condition from China to evade anti-dumping duty.
A document in CNN-IBN's possession clearly indicates how Wipro Consumer Care tried to get around the import laws of the country.
This is how Wipro evaded duty:
* Three vital parts of the lamp - the cement tube, the TP housing and the PCB were imported as separate entities in the same consignment.
* The valuation of the goods was a little more than Rs 1 crore
*This attracted anti-dumpting duty of over Rs 35 lakh, at the rate of 35 per cent, something which Wipro effectively managed to save.
The Customs department is not mincing its words and the notice issued to Wipro says: "Wipro Limited skillfully imported the goods scattered in different consignments itemwise. It prima facie seems to be a planned scheme of the importer to escape appropriate taxing of the goods."
What is even more shocking is that Wipro has been doing this for over two years now, since May 2004. 19 such consignments were shipped between May 2004 and October 2005.
The Customs department has now asked the company to pay anti-dumping duty on all the 19 consignments - which would be around Rs 1.5 crore.
When TV 18 contacted Wipro via e-mail, this is what company officials had to say:
"We are in the process of studying this notice and will respond appropriately. While we are doing this, we can only strongly reiterate that we believe that all our actions are completely compliant with the law."
Wipro now has to answer some tough questions and may even have to shell out a hefty fine. As for the Customs department, they will certainly keep a keen eye on the company's future consignments.
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