 The Hummer H2Suniel Shetty may have to wait a whole year for his dream car, a Hummer H2 that was seized on Tuesday by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI).
Rs 50 lakh tax
The DRI seized the vehicle saying it owed Rs 50 lakh as tax on the luxury SUV, but Shetty claims he hasnt bought it. Either way, it will be six months to a year for the case to be resolved and for Shetty to get his hands on the Hummer.
Mystery man
DRI sources said that the Hummer was among 50-odd vehicles imported by hotelier Sanjay Bhandari. Shetty, however, claimed he did not know Bhandari, and reiterated that he had not evaded customs duty.
Love at first sight
Shetty said he first saw the SUV when he was in the US in 2003, shooting for Dus. A few months ago, an agent told me how to buy foreign cars.
Thats when I told myself that I had to get a Hummer, the actor said.
He said the agent had given him the car to test drive for a while. But he had to send it back on September 12, as the windscreen was broken.
I am keen to buy the car and am in the process of submitting the necessary documents to the bank, he said.
Crackdown
High-end SUVs including Toyota Prados, Landcruisers, BMWs, Jaguars, and even a Porshe Cayne have been confiscated from several businessmen in Hyderabad, Gurgaon and Pune in a crackdown that began in August, after Bhandari was arrested.
The DRI, Mumbai, recently seized a two-door imported Mercedes SUV valued at Rs 60 lakh. S S History Logistic, a company run by Sanjay Bhandari, had imported the vehicle. Adjudication procedure
The DRI will issue a show-cause notice to buyer, asking why no duty should be levied on the imported vehicles. The buyer will then get a chance to present his case.
Generally, the department has between six months and a year from the date of seizure to issue the notice. And if the party fails to pay the duty, the vehicle can be confiscated. The department reserves the right to sell the vehicle in an auction.
| 
