DRI arrests director of Nashik firm in ₹9-crore nutrition import duty evasion case

The accused was intercepted at Mumbai international airport upon arrival from Barcelona, Spain. He was subsequently produced before a city magistrate’s court on Sunday and remanded to judicial custody till June 6

MUMBAI: The Mumbai unit of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on Saturday arrested the director of a Nashik-based company for allegedly mis-declaring imported nutrition products worth ₹54 crore to evade customs duty of ₹9 crore. The products were imported from China, sources said.

A high angle shot of metal handcuffs isolated on a white background

The accused was intercepted at Mumbai international airport upon arrival from Barcelona, Spain. He was subsequently produced before a city magistrate’s court on Sunday and remanded to judicial custody till June 6.

The DRI initiated its investigation following specific intelligence that the company was falsely declaring imported nutritional supplements—such as Pea Protein and Collagen Peptides—as Glycine, a relatively low-value amino acid. Glycine attracts lower customs duty due to its classification, which is different from high-value nutrition supplements.

In January this year, based on this tip-off, four containers imported by the firm were detained for detailed examination. The investigation allegedly revealed significant discrepancies between the declared goods and their actual contents, confirming suspicions of misclassification and misuse of duty concessions.

According to officials, the accused had earlier ignored summons issued by the DRI, citing health reasons, but was later found to have travelled to Spain to attend an exhibition. He had also allegedly attempted to mislead investigators and manipulate documentation related to the imports.

Though he had voluntarily deposited ₹2 crore towards the alleged ₹9 crore duty liability on May 16, he did so without admitting guilt.

Sources said the director was fully aware of the firm’s import operations and the large-scale mis-declaration. The customs duty evasion amounts to an offence under sections 132 and 135 of the Customs Act, they added.