A Swiss company that supplies India a special ink for printing currency notes has run into trouble with security agencies for importing the ink using an allegedly rigged duty free licence. The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence had last year seized about 450 kg of OVI Intaglio ink imported by SICPA,a leading provider of security inks and solutions for banknotes,on the grounds that the value of the ink far exceeded the value for which the duty free import licence was granted. SICPA had legally acquired the licence from a rice exporter through a middleman. Exporters are allowed to import raw material worth up to 10 per cent of their goods export value duty free. Under the scheme of the Directorate General of Foreign Trade,the exporter was eligible to import jute bags,rope for tying the same and ink for marking the bags. Sources said while the ink used for marking jute bags costs only about Rs 30 per litre,the security ink imported using the licence usually costs over Rs one lakh per litre. When contacted,a person from the firms Delhi office,who did not identify himself,said that the company does not have any statement for the public. We will talk to the government only. An e-mail sent to the firms headquarters in Switzerland also remained unanswered at the time of filing the story.
