Indian Railways accuses private company for freight evasion; slams notice worth Rs 660 crore

30 Sep 2011 Evaluate

Indian Railways has accused Rashmi Metaliks (part of Rashmi group) for exporting lakhs of tonnes of iron ore by submitting misleading documents to the former. The Rs 3000 crore company depicted that iron ore is for domestic consumption and accordingly submitted fraud documents, though the iron ore was later exported by company.

The notice sent by Railways in August 2011 states that Rashmi resorted to freight evasion worth Rs 132 crore during 2008-2011, leading to a penalty of Rs 528 crore for mis-declaration, amounting to Rs 660 crore. The said notice is now being challenged by the company in the Calcutta High Court.

According to the investigation done by Railways, the company declared that it transported 9.67 lakh tons for domestic use, as charges for transporting domestic iron ore are low. However, it consumed just 1.24 lakh tons, having another 43,000 tons in its inventory, which means 8 lakh tons was meant for export.

Rashmi Metaliks, West Bengal based company, is engaged in trading and exporting the minerals and mineral based product mainly from Eastern part of India. The company owns a private railway siding at Barbil.In 2010-11 it has transported 398 lakh tonnes of iron ore declaring it to be for ‘domestic use’, when it was, in fact exported from Kolkata’s Haldia port.

According to Railways, its not only Rashmi group but there are many other companies too involved in exporting iron ore by declaring it for domestic use. Railways are investigating the matter further.

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