30 High-End Vehicles, Rs 100 Crore Scam

Authorities arrested a luxury car dealer from Hyderabad in Gujarat on Thursday for allegedly evading nearly ₹100 crore in customs duty through the illegal import of luxury vehicles. Officials stated that Basharat Khan, the owner of the ‘Car Lounge’ showroom, played a central role in the scheme by significantly undervaluing high-end cars imported from abroad—sometimes by as much as 50% of their actual value.

According to the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Khan used fake documents and undervalued invoices to evade high customs duties.

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Vehicles Converted and Imported Using Fake Documents

The preliminary investigation revealed that the importers sourced the luxury vehicles from countries such as the United States and Japan. The importers rerouted the vehicles through Dubai or Sri Lanka, where they converted them from left-hand drive to right-hand drive to meet Indian road requirements. The importers then used fake documents to import the vehicles into India.

Officials have identified the illegal import of at least 30 high-end vehicles so far. These include models such as the Hummer EV, Cadillac Escalade, Rolls-Royce, Lexus, Toyota Land Cruiser, and Lincoln Navigator.

Authorities accused Khan—who has been running the luxury car showroom in Hyderabad for the past 10 years—of alone importing eight such vehicles, causing a customs duty evasion of over ₹7 crore. The team at the ‘Car Lounge’ showroom also carried out extensive vehicle modifications and enhancements in its workshop.

Dr Ahmed, Khan’s business partner, reportedly assisted him and stored many imported luxury vehicles at his farmhouse.

The DRI officials said that Khan’s business saw a rise after he forged many influential political connections and sold the high-end vehicles to them. Many of these customers reportedly paid Khan in cash to avoid taxes.

The import network spans across Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, and Delhi, officials said.

Khan has been remanded to judicial custody and further investigation is underway, they added.

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