Fraudulent and selective’ assessment of tonnage of imported and taxable freight at border check-posts in Kerala has contributed substantially to the ‘record’ shortfall in duty collection this year, an estimated Rs. 16,000 crore, according to Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) investigators.
They said the estimated loss to the public exchequer from ‘deceitful appraisal’ of cargo loads at seven check-posts in Palakkad district alone is Rs. 350 crore or more annually and that the matter has been reported to the government.
The VACB has recommended speedy establishment of cargo scanners and weighbridges at all check-posts to staunch the revenue loss.
Border check-posts in Thiruvananthapuram, Palakkad and Kollam are major entry points for construction material, poultry, livestock, edible perishables and consumer durables into the State.
The Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) is primarily responsible for checking overloading of cargo vehicles.
However, the government operates no weighbridges and depended on private operators of questionable integrity to determine tonnage of taxable imports.
This has rendered enforcers powerless to independently verify the weight of the stowage declared by the consignor and opened the door for massive corruption.
During a surprise check at Velanthavalam MVD check-post in Palakkad recently, the VACB had seized suspected graft money amounting to Rs. 66,000.
It confiscated ‘scorecards’ allegedly used by the officials to record the ‘illegal gratification’ collected from cargo vehicles entering the State. They said each multiplication mark on the scorecard indicated Rs. 1,000 and the seizure was ‘the collection for just three hours.’
The VACB has sought the prosecution of three MVD officials and two agents under the Prevention of Corruption Act in this connection.
Investigators said certain major cargo transporters paid a fixed monthly amount at check-posts, a sum of at least Rs. 30,000 to shield their trucks from inspection by officials.
