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The cigarette stocks seized from Nellore town and Santhamaguluru in Bapatla district.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The anti-evasion officials of the Guntur CGST Commissionerate have seized 69,30,000 sticks of illegally manufactured cigarettes worth around ₹3.4 crore and two vehicles in which the stocks were being transported in Nellore, and Santhamaguluru in Bapatla district.
CGST Commissioner Sadhu Narasimha Reddy, in a statement on December 7 (Thursday) said that the officials intercepted a vehicle in Nellore on December 5 and seized 33.3 lakh sticks of cigarettes carrying the names of various Indian brands.
The official intercepted another vehicle at Santhamaguluru, in which 36 lakh sticks of cigarettes were being transported. The drivers of these vehicles failed to produce the necessary documents for the stocks they were transporting, indicating the pending payment of applicable duties to the government.
B. Lakshminarayana, Joint Commissioner (AE), Guntur CGST Commissionerate, said that the seized cigarette packets lacked the essential markings, manufacturer details, manufacturing date, and expiry date. This raised suspicions among the officials who seized the entire consignments. The Guntur CGST Commissionerate has seized illegal cigarettes worth about ₹4.7 crore in the last three months.
