CBI Court Sentences Former Excise Inspector to 5 Years in ₹32 Crore Duty Evasion Case
CBI Court in Visakhapatnam sentenced a former Excise Inspector and a businessman to five years in jail for a Rs. 32 crore customs and excise duty evasion fraud
CBI
CBI
A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Court in Visakhapatnam has sentenced a former Central Excise and Customs Inspector and a businessman to five years in prison in a Rs. 32.28 crore duty evasion case. The verdict was delivered on 16 September 2025 after a long trial that began with a CBI investigation registered in 2005.
The main accused are Kalaka Ramdas, who was Inspector of Central Excise and Customs in Srikakulam at the time of the offence, and Polaki Janakiram, a resident of Srikakulam district. Janakiram’s company, Sri Balaji General Trading Company, was also convicted. The court imposed fines of Rs. 1,01,000 on Ramdas, Rs. 2,51,000 on Janakiram, and Rs. 2,01,000 on the company, bringing the total fine to Rs. 5,53,000.
According to the CBI, Janakiram hatched a conspiracy with Ramdas to cheat the Excise and Customs Department. Janakiram impersonated a fictitious individual named Palla Kesava Rao and forged documents in that name.
Using these false papers, he established the trading company and applied for a trading license and an Import and Export Code from the Visakhapatnam Special Economic Zone. He also sought permission to declare certain premises as a warehousing station under the Customs Act.
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By using the false identity, Janakiram procured duty-free materials from firms based in Maligaon and also through imports. Instead of using the materials lawfully, he cleared them fraudulently as deemed exports to firms in Mumbai against Advance Release Orders. This was in clear violation of the Export-Import Policy guidelines.
The CBI found that these fraudulent transactions, carried out in collusion with Inspector Ramdas, caused the government a loss of over Rs. 32 crore in excise and customs duty.
After completing its investigation, the CBI filed a charge sheet in August 2008. The case went through years of trial, and the court has now held both accused guilty of conspiracy, forgery, impersonation, and duty evasion.
Following the pronouncement of judgment, both Ramdas and Janakiram were taken into custody and sent to Central Prison, Visakhapatnam, to serve their sentences.
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