Shares of Future Enterprises Ltd, a part of retail conglomerate Future Group, dropped as much as 11% in intraday trade on Monday after the company’s chief financial officer (CFO) was arrested for allegedly evading customs duty worth Rs 14.58 crore.
At 11:50 am, Future Enterprises shares were trading at Rs 32, down 5.7%, on BSE after hitting an intra-day low of Rs 30.25.
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) arrested Dinesh Maheshwari, executive director and CFO of Future Enterprises, for flouting import rules that allow duty-free shipments of certain items under the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA).
“... He (Maheshwari) appears to be the main person responsible for the evasion of duty to the tune of Rs 14.58 crore by Future Enterprises Ltd. He appears to be guilty of an offence punishable under Section 135 of the Customs Act and has, therefore, been arrested under Section 104 of the Customs Act, on July 12,” according to a statement released by DRI on July 13.
Future Enterprises was importing readymade garments from Bangladesh through Petrapole Land Customs Station (LCS) without payment of basic customs duty, availing of the SAFTA benefit, the statement said.
Investigations further revealed that the garments were supplied by third-country suppliers based in Dubai and Singapore, but were delivered from Bangladesh after minimal processing, the DRI statement added.
Future Enterprises is the infrastructure arm of the diversified retail business founded by Kishore Biyani. The group runs a series of retail chains in the country, including fashion store FBB, Big Bazaar supermarket stores and premium lifestyle food superstore Foodhall.
Comments
0 comment