Tax evasion on import of palm oil; 512 crore fine for Parisons

KOCHI: Kozhikode-based Parisons Group has been fined Rs 512.72 crore by customs for importing palmolein under the guise of unrefined palm oil. There is no customs duty on crude palm oil.

49,189 metric tonnes of crude palm oil worth Rs 425.49 crore was imported from Indonesia. The penalty is 100 percent of the value of the goods plus GST. Crude palm oil is processed several times to produce palmolein.

Mangalore Customs Commissioner P. Vinitha Shekhar's action follows an investigation by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence. 24.57 crores as social welfare surcharge has been collected and the remaining amount has to be paid.

Parisons is a leading food product company active in the plantation sector as well.

17.5% duty was payable. From June 2022 to March 31, 2023, cargo was unloaded in Mangalore in seven ships. It was brought to Parisons' factory in Malappuram and processed and marketed.

Customs had issued a show-cause notice to the company's managing director NK Muhammadali, brothers and directors NK Harris, NK Khalid and NK Ashraf and their agent Hasan Haji Co.

Parisons' contention that the importers were under the impression that crude palm oil was also tax exempt and did not attempt evasion was rejected. Revenue Intelligence conducted inspections at Parisons' Kozhikode headquarters, Malappuram factory and Mangalore storage systems. A response from Customs was not available regarding the proceedings.