CBIC Refutes Bribery Allegation at Chennai Customs

A social media post by Prawin Ganeshan alleging bribery and shipment delays at the Chennai Customs has prompted an official response from the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), refuting the claims and presenting a detailed timeline of events.

In a tweet dated June 26, Ganeshan claimed that his consignment was blocked by a customs officer, Mr. Tirupathi Rao, at the Chennai Airport Shed as retaliation for not paying a bribe in connection with past imports. The tweet further implicated Officer Yuvaraj at the Chennai Sea Customs and was directed at the official handle of @ChennaiCustoms.

Responding to the allegation, CBIC issued a point-by-point clarification on June 28, addressing the claims related to Bill of Entry No. 2869153 filed on June 25, 2025. The consignment in question involved 14 electronic items including Programmable Logic Controllers.

According to CBIC, the consignment was presented for examination on June 26, and being classified as electronic equipment, the Customs House Agent (CHA), Eshwa Global, was required to submit an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) certificate as per Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) norms. The CHA instead uploaded an MSME registration certificate at 3:36 PM to claim exemption from the EPR requirement.

The examination was completed and the shipment was cleared with “Out of Charge” (OOC) status granted at 5:01 PM the same day.

CBIC also clarified that Ganeshan’s previous firm, Wintrack Inc., had a separate incident involving mis-declaration of imported body massagers under Bill of Entry No. 2004395 filed on May 12, 2025. During examination on May 20, excess quantity was discovered and EPR certification for battery waste was missing. After accepting the mis-declaration, the importer submitted an MSME certificate to claim exemption and paid applicable fines and differential duty. The consignment was released on May 26.

Interestingly, CBIC further revealed that Ganeshan had raised a similar allegation in January 2025, which was investigated and resolved after he admitted procedural lapses. The corresponding tweet was later deleted.

The department urged all importers to file complete and accurate documentation to ensure prompt customs clearance and reiterated its zero-tolerance policy on corruption.

While the public allegation briefly drew attention on social media, the official timeline suggests that procedural lapses, rather than any impropriety on the part of customs officers, led to the shipment delays.

With regard to your tweet on 26.06.25 regarding your Bill of Entry No.: 2869153 dated 25.06.2025 for Programmable Logic Controller (14 electronic items), it is found that the assessable value declared for the consignment is approximately 22.11 lakh, as against the claim of 221…

— CBIC (@cbic_india) June 28, 2025