When Sushmita Sen was crowned Miss Universe, the country rejoiced as she had gracefully broken the stereotype that “only fair-skinned women” win the coveted title. She, once again, made us fall in love with her, when she proved to be a doting single mother. But today, she is in news for not-so-great reasons.
The Madras High Court has directed Bollywood actor Sushmita Sen to appear before the trial court in Chennai, to be cross examined for allegedly bringing in a Toyota Land Cruiser, a high-end car, illegally to the country.
Mumbai zonal unit of Customs and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) had received information that luxury cars were being imported by exploiting the provisions of Transfer of Residence (TR rules) of the EXIM policy. Enquiry revealed the first accused as Haren Choksey, and the illegal importer as Vasu Pandari Thamala.
According to import policy, the car could not be transferred in the name of any other person except the importer for two years. The payment was made to Jai Mata Enterprises, the company of Choksey, who in turn made the payment to Thamala.
The middlemen had fraudulently declared the wrong year of manufacture and the assessed value of the car. They also tampered with the chassis number to evade customs duty. Choksey prepared lease agreement and power of attorney of the car on behalf of Thamala.
After the car was seized, Sen voluntarily deposited the differential customs duty. A penalty of Rs 20 lakh on Thamala, and Rs 10 lakh on Choksey was imposed in March 2008. A case of evasion of customs duty was imposed on the duo and Sen came forward to provide evidence against them.
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