Vivo India Accused of Rs. 2,200 Crore Tax Evasion by Directorate of Revenue Intelligence: Details

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence has accused Chinese-owned Vivo Mobile of evading taxes worth Rs. 2,200 crore, it said in a statement. The tax evasion allegation is the country’s second this week against a Chinese phone-maker. The DRI detected customs duty evasion, following which it has issued a show cause notice to Vivo India, the statement said.

A show cause notice is a formal demand for an accused party to justify themselves.

The DRI’s investigation led to the finding of “incriminating evidence indicating wilful mis-declaration in the description of certain items imported,” the statement said.

Vivo India did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Last month, it was reported that the financial crime-fighting agency, the Enforcement Directorate, had raided Vivo’s properties in the country. 

On Tuesday, the DRI issued a show-cause notice to Oppo, another Chinese phone-maker, demanding duty of Rs. 4,400 crore. 

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said that the government is looking into cases of alleged tax evasion by three mobile companies from China — Oppo, Vivo India and Xiaomi — and notices have been issued to them.

“The Department of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has issued notice to Oppo, the mobile company, for a total customs duty of Rs 4,389 crore, and these are on the grounds of misdeclaration of certain goods, leading to a short payment in customs duty. That duty evasion, we think, is about Rs 2,981 crores,” Sitharaman said in the Rajya Sabha in response to a question by BJP member Sushil Modi.