Bangalore:
The craze for super bikes has given rise to smugglers, who bring knocked down parts of such mean machines into the country to evade tax. Bike parts mostly brought in from Dubai and Thailand are re-assembled here, and then passed on to the customer.
According to sources privy to the super bike market in the city, the customers would have to make a non-refundable advance payment - half of the total cost - to book their two-wheelers.
The parts were brought in through proper channel - after paying the duty as required. However, the duty for spare parts is less compared to importing an assembled bike. The import duty for a vehicle is 200 per cent of the total cost. Sources said the dealer here placed order for such parts only after they get bookings for at least four bikes.
"The two wheelers are brought spare parts by spare parts over two to three months. These parts are brand new. After getting all parts, the dismantled vehicle is re-assembled at a garage. The duty of the bike stays unpaid, and total cost would Rs 1 lakh more than what we had paid abroad," one such dealer said on the condition of anonymity.
He added that the re-assembled bikes cost less. "We offer them (customers) bikes for about `11 lakh, compared to Rs 17 lakh they will have to pay for an imported bike."
The vehicle parts were brought into the city through the four Indian metros. The source said besides Bangalore, the super bikes were in much demand in Goa and Pune as well.
Meanwhile, four-wheelers were brought in third party's name to evade tax. A customs official said the third parties would be mainly labourers, who had lived in one of the middle-eastern countries.
"These labourers are offered a good amount for bringing the vehicles. The names and contact details of the car dealers would be unknown to them," the official said, adding that the smuggling in of four-wheelers had drastically come down due to the custom's crackdown on smugglers.
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