DRI seizes foreign-brand cigarettes worth Rs 15 cr

Cigarettes of foreign brands worth Rs 15 crore have been seized by Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officials on the new year eve from Inland Container Depot, Tughlakabad near here.
About 1.52 crore cigarette sticks, which have been seized, were of mixed brands including Mond of UAE origin, and Indonesia-made Djarum Black and Gudang Garam brands.
"These were attempted to be smuggled into the country by being misdeclared as disposable cups," a press release issued today by the DRI said.
These cigarettes were imported from United Arab Emirates, it said, adding that the value of the cigarettes is estimated to be Rs 15.28 crore.

Last year, the DRI had seized cigarettes of foreign brands worth Rs 56 crore. This included one of the biggest seizures of 2.39 crore cigarettes with local market value of over Rs 24 crore at Special Economic Zone, Moradabad and JNPT, Nhava Sheva, the release said.
Smuggling of foreign cigarettes is often mentioned as one of the factors impacting the domestic manufacturers. Moreover, those smuggled foreign cigarettes do not bear statutory health warning, it said.

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The Union Health Ministry, however, dismissed remarks that there was ambiguity in the policy, saying the government was "very clear" that packaging done on such products from April 1 will have to display 85 per cent pictorial warning.

"There is no ambiguity. With clarity, the ministry has notified that any packaging done after April 1 will have to bear that 85 per cent. Till such time, we do not change the rules, this will remain," a senior Health Ministry official said.
The ministry's notification of September 24, 2015, for implementation of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Amendment Rules, 2014, came into force from today.