• Chinese phone maker Oppo’s India unit has been slapped with a notice for alleged Rs 4,389 crore import duty evasion after the recovery of documents during searches on its premises that indicated wilful misdeclaration in the description of some imports and remittance of royalty and license fees to various MNCs, including those based in China, the finance ministry said.

• Oppo India is engaged in the business of manufacturing, assembling, wholesale trading, distribution of mobile handsets and accessories thereof across India. It deals in various brands of mobile phones, including Oppo, OnePlus and Realme.

• During an investigation of Oppo Mobiles India Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corporation Ltd, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has detected Customs duty evasion of around Rs 4,389 crore, the ministry said.

• A show-cause notice has been issued and it also proposes relevant penalties on Oppo India, its employees and Oppo China, under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962. 

Directorate of Revenue Intelligence

• The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) was constituted in 1957 as the apex anti-smuggling intelligence and investigation agency functioning under the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) to counter the menace of smuggling in India. 

• Over the years, DRI has established itself as the premier intelligence agency commanding the trust of international and national agencies with its intelligence inputs on myriad subjects — ranging from fake currency notes, narcotics, gold, arms & ammunition, wildlife, cultural heritage and commercial fraud. 

• The organisation has sought to reorient itself to new and emerging challenges, such as those relating to black money, money laundering and narco-terrorism.

• DRI has also been at the forefront in international Customs collaboration through Customs Mutual Assistance Agreements of CBIC with over 60 other countries, where thrust is on information exchange and learning from the best practices of other Customs administrations.

• DRI enforces the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962 and over fifty other allied Acts including the Arms Act, NDPS Act, COFEPOSA (Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities), Wildlife Act, Antiquities Act, etc. 

• It undertakes collection, collation, analysis and dissemination of intelligence relating to smuggling, carries out investigations, adjudication of cases and prosecution of the arrested persons. 

• The DRI has also been designated as the lead agency for S-CORD, the national anti-smuggling coordination centre. 

• Being the apex anti-smuggling enforcement organisation and given its track record in collaborative endeavours, DRI is expected to carry along the border agencies towards the common objective of thwarting smuggling activities that pose a grave threat to national security and economic well-being of the country.

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