Basharat Khan has been running the luxury car showroom in Hyderabad for the past 10 years.
A luxury car dealer from Hyderabad was arrested in Gujarat on Thursday for his alleged involvement in a nearly Rs 100 crore customs duty evasion fraud linked to the illegal import of high-end vehicles. Basharat Khan, the proprietor of 'Car Lounge' showroom, played a key role in undervaluing luxury cars imported from abroad - in some cases at nearly 50 per cent of their actual value, officials said.
According to the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Khan used fake documents and undervalued invoices to evade high customs duties.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the luxury vehicles were sourced from countries such as the United States and Japan. They were rerouted through Dubai or Sri Lanka, where the vehicles were converted from left-hand drive to right-hand drive to meet Indian road requirements. The vehicles were then imported into India using fake documents.
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.
Khan, who has been running the luxury car showroom in Hyderabad for the past 10 years, was alone accused of importing eight such vehicles, causing a customs duty evasion of over Rs 7 crore. The 'Car Lounge' showroom also had a workshop where extensive vehicle modifications and enhancements were carried out.
Khan was reportedly assisted by his business partner, Dr Ahmed - who 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.
