Government agency seizes Pakistan-origin dry dates imports worth Rs 3 crore misdeclared from UAE

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Enforcing the prohibition on imports from Pakistan, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has seized 364-tonne dry dates worth Rs 3 crore that were mis-declared as having originated from the UAE. Investigation revealed that the goods, though declared as originating from the UAE, were in fact of Pakistan origin. Pakistani dates used to arrive at Indian ports through transhipment hubs — particularly via the UAE, which has a free trade agreement with India. While India’s overall goods trade stands at $430 billion, the comparable number for Pakistan stands at roughly $100 billion. “The consignment had been falsely declared as natural resin originating from Somalia and routed through Dubai.