the BEFORE effect
and the AFTER effects
Read On.....................
Revenue intelligence officials in India have seized a Hummer belonging to popular action hero Sunil Shetty, saying he had evaded millions of rupees in duties while importing the sports utility vehicle from the United States, a newspaper reported Thursday.
The large, heavy Hummer is the civilian version of the Humvee used by the U.S. military and is built by AM General, based in South Bend, Indiana, and sold by the General Motors Corp.
GM doesn''t sell Hummer in India, and Indians have to pay a hefty 105 percent customs duty on such imports.
However, tour operators are exempted from the duty, because they need luxury cars to cater to foreign tourists. Some Indians take advantage of this facility, by paying a travel agency run by a friend or relative to import the luxury cars they want. The ownership of the vehicle is changed later.
Actor Sunil Shetty allegedly did just that, the Hindustan Times newspaper reported quoting unnamed revenue officials. But Shetty denied that he has violated any rules.
Although his Hummer was bought through a travel agency, Shetty told the newspaper that he had paid 7 million rupees (US$180,000; A148,000), an amount that also includes duties.
"I have all the documents, so there shouldn''t be any problem," Shetty said.