The Hindu : Front Page : Sushmita gets clean chit in car import case

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Tuesday, Nov 18, 2008
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Sushmita gets clean chit in car import case

K. BHAGYA PRAKASH

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Monday revoked the show cause notice issued to Bollywood actor Sushmita Sen in the Land Cruiser import case, as the prosecution said that there was no evidence of her involvement in any kind of scam.

The Mumbai police and the Custom authorities are currently probing an inter-State car import racket that brings foreign cars to India evading duty.

Government pleader Dhairyasheel Nalavade told the High Court that “till date there is nothing against the petitioner [Sushmita Sen].”

Octroi evasion

Ms. Sen bought the car in 2005. Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) sought a penalty of Rs. 23 lakh from her for evading octroi.

The High Court, last year, held that MCGM cannot impose penalty and only a court of law could do that.

But the court also issued a show-cause notice to her, seeing that there was prima facie some misrepresentation of facts on her part and an attempt had been made to evade customs duty.

Following this, police started investigating the case. They found that there was an interstate racket that brought cars to India using ‘transfer of residence’ exemption. If a person brings his own car to India, he has to pay much less duty.

The racketeers prepared fake documents to import cars, which were then sold to buyers here.

Haren Choksi, the agent through whom Ms. Sen acquired the car, is allegedly involved in this racket. — PTI

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