ED attaches Rs 20.26-cr worth FDs in fake TED claim case

NEW DELHI, Jan 8: Fixed deposits of more than Rs 20 crore of a Gujarat-based company have been attached in connection with a money laundering probe linked to a case of alleged fake refund claim of terminal excise duty (TED), the Enforcement Directorate said on Friday.
The company Crystal Crop Protection Pvt Ltd (CCPL), its directors Nand Kishore Agarwal, Ankur Agarwal and Mohit Kumar Goel and the then joint director of Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) A K Singh posted in Ahmedabad and others were first booked by the Gandhinagar unit of the CBI in January last year “for committing fraud of Rs 20.26 crore with the government exchequer in connivance with the concerned public servant”.
The ED later filed a criminal case under various sections the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against the accused on the basis of this FIR.
“CCPL purchased duty free import authorisation (DFIA) license from an exporter and used the same for claim of refund of terminal excise duty on local procurement of insecticides from Modern Papers, a Jammu-based unit.”
“Investigation found that the said DFIA license entitled them refund of the terminal excise duty in case of local procurement. However, since CCPL had procured goods from a Jammu-based unit and since excise duty was exempted on the said goods it was not entitled for payment and subsequent refund of TED,” the ED said in a statement.
It said CCPL had claimed refund of TED on such goods which were purchased by them prior to issuance of the advance release order by the DGFT.
“Thus, by making fraudulent claims, CCPL got refund of TED to the tune of Rs 20.26 crore from the DGFT, Ahmedabad,” it said.
As this refund amount has already been used CCPL, the ED alleged, fixed deposit to the extent of 20.26 crore has been provisionally attached. (PTI)