Mumbai: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has arrested a city businessman and his son for allegedly evading customs duty of more than Rs 22 crore by routing Chinese-origin seamless steel pipes and tubes through Thailand and allegedly using fake certificates of origin to claim duty benefits under the ASEAN-India Free Trade Agreement (AIFTA).The DRI arrested businessman Chandraprakash Sanghvi (51) and his son Aditya Sanghvi (24). They were produced before the Customs Court, which remanded them to judicial custody. According to the DRI, the agency received intelligence that Thai company Thaida Stainless Steel Tube Manufacturing Co Ltd was allegedly routing Chinese-origin seamless steel tubes and pipes to India to circumvent anti-dumping duty imposed on Chinese products.The investigation concerns imports made through Nhava Sheva by three firms—Industahl International, Savior Products Overseas and Seminox Pipes and Tubes Pvt Ltd. The DRI alleges that the importers wrongly claimed AIFTA benefits and paid nil customs duty despite the goods allegedly originating in China.The agency has estimated the assessable value of the goods at around Rs 13.2 crore, while the alleged duty evasion has been placed at more than Rs 22 crore, including basic customs duty, social welfare surcharge, IGST and anti-dumping duty.The DRI said verification with Thai authorities revealed that the purported certificates of origin submitted for the consignments had not been issued by the authorised Thai authorities. Investigators also recovered an email in which a Chinese steel manufacturer allegedly stated that Thaida was its Thai subsidiary and offered to export goods through Thailand if imports from China attracted high duty.The agency further claimed that bills of lading showed Thaida had imported about 859.6 metric tonnes of seamless steel pipes from China, strengthening its allegation that the goods were Chinese-origin products routed through Thailand.During questioning, Chandraprakash allegedly admitted that he was a director of Seminox, partner in Savior Products and beneficial owner of Industahl. The DRI said he also acknowledged that fake Thai origin certificates had been used for customs clearance and accepted the duty liability.Aditya, proprietor of Industahl, allegedly told investigators that his father handled the firm’s import-related dealings and coordinated with overseas suppliers. He too allegedly acknowledged that fake certificates of origin had been used.