Mumbai, Sep 10 (PTI) In one of the biggest seizures, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence has seized 371 tons of Areca Nuts worth more than Rs 32 crore from 14 containers at Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Maharashtra's Raigad district, an official said on Sunday.

Based on reliable information, the containers were stopped at JNPT on August 31 before they could be transhipped to dry port Talegaon on suspicion that the cargo could be pilfered or replaced en route, he said.

Also Read | UK PM Rishi Sunak, Wife Akshata Murty Spend 45 Minutes at Akshardham Temple, Enquire About Its Architecture and History (See Pics and Video).

As per the import manifest details and the declaration, the containers were carrying calcium nitrate. However, the examination revealed that it was a case of brazen misdeclaration and all the 14 containers had areca nuts which were being smuggled into India, the official said.

The government has put a tariff value of 10,379/ USD per metric ton on areca nuts brought into the country from outside. Hence, the entire consignment of 3,71,090 kg (371 MT) of areca nuts, valued at Rs 32.31 crore has been seized, a release said.

Also Read | G20 Summit 2023: India is Turkey's Greatest Trade Partner in South Asia, Says Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Watch Video).

The areca nuts in split form attract an effective Customs duty rate of 110 per cent of the value. Hence, the attempted duty evasion in this case by way of misdeclaration is around Rs 36 crore.

Further investigation is underway, the official added.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)