At least 46 containers of the Comoros-flagged vessel, WIV Reyfa, detained by the Customs officials at Nhava Sheva port,
| Photo Credit:
IMRAN NISSAR
At least 46 containers of the Comoros-flagged vessel, WIV Reyfa, detained by the Customs officials at Nhava Sheva port, are reported to be carrying walnuts from China, but “misdeclared” as Afghan produce.
The ship, laden with 310 containers and claimed to have originated from Bandar Abbas Port in Iran, has been held up by Customs officials over the past 2-½ weeks. Customs officials had acted on “specific information” on the misdeclaration of origin the Department of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) received on February 2.
A circular issued by the Customs Intelligence Unit (CIU) on February 17 said one person has been arrested in this connection, and investigations have revealed duty evasion to the tune of ₹50 crore. So far, no importer has come forward to identify the consignments.
US, Chile walnuts too
“The entire vessel has been held up because of these 46 containers. Boxes containing walnuts have come from China, and exporters did not even change the packages with Chinese writing,” said a Mumbai-based trade source, who did not wish to be identified.
“This misdeclaration has been happening for years. Walnuts from the US and Chile have been entering as Afghan produce to claim the zero-duty benefit under the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA),” said a North India-based trader.
Walnuts from other origins, such as the US, have better kernel yield. Every kg of domestic walnut-in-shell yields 350 gm of kernels. In the case of the US or other countries, the yield is 450-500 gm.
But India currently imposes a 100 per cent Customs duty on walnut imports to protect domestic growers, particularly in Kashmir. So, unscrupulous traders bring walnuts from other countries, claiming to be from Afghanistan.
Trade rivalry
“This time, Customs have acted because a section of traders gave specific information to the officials due to rivalry. It is not just the case with walnuts. It happens with arecanut and black cardamom,” said the North Indian trader.
The modus operandi is that some traders purchase walnuts that would have been imported into one of the Gulf ports. Then, these are shipped to ports such as Bandar Abbas to claim zero-duty imports under SAFTA.
“Similarly, arecanut from other growing countries such as China land in Colombo (Sri Lanka), before being shipped to India to derive SAFTA benefits,” said the North Indian trader.
A South Indian trader said Chinese garlic was also finding its way into India in the same way.
Traders said documents relating to the shipments are submitted manually, and hence, it is easy to “manipulate” the origin of a product.
Current domestic prices
The CIU circular said to substantiate their false claims of the country of origin, traders forge transit documentation (House Bill of Lading) and uploaded in E-sanchit, ICES (an e-commerce portal of the Indian Customs Department). Thus, an artificial trail of movement of goods is created from ports such as Bandar Abbas to other ports, particularly in the Gulf, such as Jebel Ali.
On e-commerce websites, Kashmir walnut in shell costs ₹450 a kg for the jumbo variety and about ₹350 for other varieties, while the Californian and Chile ones cost ₹560 and ₹700, respectively.
Published on February 20, 2026