Mumbai Customs demands more duty on Reliance planes

Mumbai: The Mumbai Customs department has lodged a claim for additional import duties on two aircraft owned by Mukesh Ambani's Reliance group, including on the Airbus he gave his wife for her birthday, Indian media said on Saturday.

The department seized the aircraft late Thursday but returned them for maintenance and on the condition that they would not be used without permission, the Financial Express newspaper said, quoting an unnamed Customs official.

"The aircraft were imported as non-scheduled carriers but were being used for private purposes. There is a difference in the duties charged," the official said in the report.

Non-scheduled or charter carriers attract lower duty than those imported for personal use, he added in the report.

Gift to wife

Ambani, the world's fifth-richest man and owner of the country's biggest private company Reliance Industries, was reported to have given the $55 million Airbus to his wife Neeta last year.

The reports differ on the duty amount that the Customs department is claiming, but it could work out to about $14 million.

In a statement, Ambani's Reliance Industries said the customs department had sent out notices to several other non-scheduled operators as a routine procedure and Reliance's aircraft were detained and handed back as part of this procedure.

"With reference to the alleged tax evasion, Reliance has fully complied with all procedures and documentation required as notified by the concerned authorities," the company added.