The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence on Wednesday has seized 364 metric tonnes of Pakistan-origin dry dates valued at about Rs 3 crore after detecting alleged misdeclaration of the goods' country of origin.
DRI officers intercepted 13 containers carrying the dry dates at Kandla Port. The consignments had been declared as originating from the United Arab Emirates, but an investigation found that the goods were from Pakistan.
The dates were allegedly transported from Pakistan to Dubai, transferred to another set of containers and then exported to India. The importers are accused of suppressing information and misdeclaring the country of origin to circumvent India's prohibition on imports of Pakistan-origin goods.
The entire consignment was seized under the relevant provisions of the Customs Act, 1962.
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In a separate case last week, the DRI detected an alleged attempt to import about 14 metric tonnes of Pakistan-origin guggul resin, valued at approximately Rs 1.4 crore, through Tuticorin Port.
The consignment had been declared as natural resin originating from Somalia and was routed through Dubai. Investigators found that it contained guggul resin of Pakistan origin and had been trans-shipped using allegedly forged documents. Two people were arrested in connection with the case.
Guggul resin, or Commiphora resin, is derived from a species found in the arid regions of India and Pakistan. It is listed under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and is categorised as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List.
Under the Foreign Trade Policy 2023, amended through a Directorate General of Foreign Trade notification dated May 2, 2025, the direct or indirect import or transit of goods originating in or exported from Pakistan is prohibited. The DRI said the imports in both cases violated the prohibition.
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