SCPC booked Peevees Petroleum Products Ltd

Kochi, Sep 3 (UNI) The State Customs Preventive Commissionerate (SCPC) booked Peevees Petroleum Products Ltd in Kozhikode for customs duty evasion amounting to Rs 1.07 crore.

According to an official release, the company which was incorporated in 1994 with an aim of importing and storage of liquid petroleum gas (LPG), with the collaboration of Mobil Gas of the US imported high quality steel sheets worth Rs 3 crore from Germany in 1995 for the construction of LPG storage tanks at Chaliyam in Kozhikode.

The steel sheets were imported at a concessional rate of customs duty through Chennai Port under a scheme called 'Project Import Scheme' on an undertaking that the project would be completed within five years from the date of import.

The Mobil gas opted out of the project and the company became a non-functional entity, but the company had not started the erection of the storage tank till date. But the company was seeking extension of time period to complete the project, from customs authorities under various pretexts claiming that the project was still alive.

The imported materials were lying in the yard of the company and had started corroding. The customs department recently verified the stock of the imported material and found shortage in the stock, the release added.

Since they had not completed the project within the stipulated time, the company was bound to pay the differential customs duty for the goods imported under Project Import Scheme.

UNI MA GKT 1700