Smugglers hitting the wine industry
By Wang Qingchu |
June 16, 2011, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A MAN in Beijing smuggled more than 80,000 bottles of red wine and evaded more than 20 million yuan (US$3 million) in tax over a five-year period, according to Beijing Customs.
The suspect, surnamed Sun, was said to have imported red wine from France, Britain, Hong Kong and other places on more than 80 occasions between 2004 and 2009. To minimize customs payment, Sun is alleged to have declared acquisition prices much lower than the actual prices he paid and lied about the names of the wine, yesterday's Legal Daily reported.
Sun is alleged to have fabricated invoices and company seals and asked suppliers to put a few cheap wines on top and hide more expensive ones below in the container in order to trick customs officials into thinking the whole consignment was one of cheap wine.
Sun is also alleged to have given high-end red wines unfamiliar Chinese names to pass them off as cheap brands. By doing this, he declared much lower prices for premier wines such as Chateau Lafite Rothschild, Chateau Latour and Chateau Margaux.
Customs officials said they confiscated 27 fake company seals and invoices and found real invoices indicating the true price of imported red wines in Sun's office.
Each imported bottle of red wine is taxed at around 50 percent of its acquisition price. To dodge the tax and increase their profit margin, many people file false declarations to mislead customs officials, the report said.
With China's red wine market growing rapidly in recent years, more companies have engaged in the business. However, about 70 percent of imported red wines sold in China were smuggled, the report said.
An insider told the newspaper that smugglers were sabotaging the legitimate industry.
The suspect, surnamed Sun, was said to have imported red wine from France, Britain, Hong Kong and other places on more than 80 occasions between 2004 and 2009. To minimize customs payment, Sun is alleged to have declared acquisition prices much lower than the actual prices he paid and lied about the names of the wine, yesterday's Legal Daily reported.
Sun is alleged to have fabricated invoices and company seals and asked suppliers to put a few cheap wines on top and hide more expensive ones below in the container in order to trick customs officials into thinking the whole consignment was one of cheap wine.
Sun is also alleged to have given high-end red wines unfamiliar Chinese names to pass them off as cheap brands. By doing this, he declared much lower prices for premier wines such as Chateau Lafite Rothschild, Chateau Latour and Chateau Margaux.
Customs officials said they confiscated 27 fake company seals and invoices and found real invoices indicating the true price of imported red wines in Sun's office.
Each imported bottle of red wine is taxed at around 50 percent of its acquisition price. To dodge the tax and increase their profit margin, many people file false declarations to mislead customs officials, the report said.
With China's red wine market growing rapidly in recent years, more companies have engaged in the business. However, about 70 percent of imported red wines sold in China were smuggled, the report said.
An insider told the newspaper that smugglers were sabotaging the legitimate industry.
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