New Delhi: With export sops increasingly being misused, government is tightening inspection of exports and imports from free ports, especially from Dubai, Hong Kong and Singapore.

With the process of liberalisation gathering momentum, significant changes in commercial frauds have been noticed, official sources told reporters. "Thus exports or imports from/to free ports, especially from Singapore, Hong Kong and Dubai, need careful examination," sources said.

This move comes as part of efforts to contain the frauds in bilateral/multilateral trade, especially in the wake of government's urge to push up exports and attain the magic on per cent level in world market by 2006-07.

Rampant misuse of schemes of Duty Exemption Entitlement Scheme (DEEC), Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG), 100 per cent Export Oriented Units (EOU), Duty Entitlement Pass Book (DEPB) and Duty Drawback have been detected, apart from the problems of under-invoicing and misdeclaration of goods and its value, sources said.

Violation of DEEC schemes ranged from outright diversion of duty free imports without fulfilment of export obligation to over-invoicing of export orders and subsequent transfer of duty-free licences through market process.

Over-invoicing of export commodities included readymade garments, pharmaceuticals, articles of ferrous and non-ferrous metals, marble, glassware and articles of plastics.

PTI