Wintrack, importer of personal massagers, quits India citing harassment and corruption at Chennai Customs; Finance Ministry orders inquiry

In its X bio, the company now identifies itself starkly: “Exposed bribery @ Chennai Customs, Faced revenge. Lost business. Corruption won this battle. They can destroy our business, not our voice.”

Chennai Customs has denied the allegations.

At the centre of the standoff was a shipment that, according to Ganeshan, consisted of personal massagers — widely sold in India and globally as sexual wellness products. In one post, he complained, “The shipment in question is this massager! How can a factory sell a massager without a charging cable? The charging cable is included as part of the new product kit; every new product requires a charging cable to function. Customs raised an issue for the first time this year, questioning why charging cables were not declared separately.”

Ganeshan argued that no one sells such cables alone and that they had always been part of the packing list. For the first time, officials also demanded EPR and LMPC compliance, he claimed. EPR stands for Extended Producer Responsibility — a certificate from India’s pollution control authority showing the company would take responsibility for recycling the batteries in the product. LMPC refers to Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) rules, governing how weights and labels must be displayed. Both are routine, but Ganeshan claimed they were selectively weaponised to delay and block his goods.

The company sharpened its attack, naming a senior official who they claimed “openly threatened us”.

In a detailed response from Chennai Customs, the department said the allegations are “serious and false,” and laid out what it called “documented facts”.

During inspection, the statement said, the goods had been misclassified. “Goods declared under CTH 90191010 were found to be misclassified and correctly classifiable under CTH 90191020. The importer accepted this reclassification on 01.09.2025, confirming the misclassification,” it said. Customs further claimed that eight boxes of USB charging cables were undeclared, “a clear violation of Section 111 of the Customs Act, 1962.”

The department insisted that EPR registration under the Battery Waste Management Rules, 2022, was mandatory because the imported massagers had built-in rechargeable batteries. The importer, it said, failed to provide the certificate despite repeated queries. “Instead, the importer submitted wrong documentation (E-waste undertaking) and made legally untenable claims of MSME exemption, finished product exemption, and low battery capacity exemption – none of which exist under the law,” the statement said.

Customs also accused Ganeshan of intimidation. “During an official meeting on 30.09.2025, the importer attempted to intimidate senior officers through threats of media exposure and self-harm when informed that due process must be followed,” it said. The department stressed that no bribes were ever demanded and that all actions were “legally mandated, procedurally proper, and based on documented violations.”

Central body steps in

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC), the finance ministry body overseeing customs nationwide, intervened on social media. “Regarding the allegations of corruption against Chennai Customs raised by Prawin Ganeshan on Twitter, it is clarified that the issue pertains to misdeclaration and misclassification by the importer,” CBIC wrote. “Chennai Customs has already responded on this aspect. Subsequently, the importer has shared certain names and screenshots on Twitter. The matter has been noted, and all facts will be duly examined. Necessary action, as warranted under the law, will be taken.”

In reply to official statements, Ganeshan named three officers, claiming, “These officers received bribes to clear my wife’s company shipment last week. Faceless Assessment Officer at Mumbai received Rs 50,000. When we negotiated the bribe through our staff in person… they offered a discount of 10%.”

Later, the Union Finance Ministry said in a statement on X that it had ordered an inquiry into the matter.

“The Government has taken cognizance of the matter raised by M/s Wintrack Inc (Chennai). The Department of Revenue (DoR) @FinMinIndia has been asked to undertake a fair, transparent, and fact-based inquiry into the present issue. A Senior Officer from DoR has been deputed to conduct a detailed factual enquiry, hearing the parties concerned, officials and thoroughly examining all relevant documentary evidence,” the post on the ministry’s official X account said.

“The matter is being dealt with utmost seriousness, and the Government is committed to taking appropriate and expeditious action in accordance with the law. It is reiterated that the Government is committed to enhancing ease of doing business,” the post further said.

Sharp reactions

Politicians also joined the debate. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor wrote, “This is truly dismaying. Corruption remains rampant across the system and most companies simply comply as part of the ‘price of doing business.’ It doesn’t have to be this way. Indeed it must not be like this if the country is to grow and prosper.”

Addressing the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Mohandas Pai, a Padma Shri awardee, former CFO and board member at Infosys, and a leading technology and education investor in India, said that “Madame… this is not acceptable.”

“You have failed to stamp out systemic corruption in our ports. Please stop this. You are our FM and our PM Narendra Modi had promised us corruption-free rule. You have also failed to stop TAX TERRORISM,” Pai wrote, tagging the PM and the Home Minister Amit Shah as well.

Agents and importers who spoke to The Indian Express, whose operations fall under the Chennai Air and Port Customs, said the issue is not about a single shipment of massagers but more about the frustrations of doing business in India’s ports. “To ordinary traders, the alphabet soup of regulations – BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards), LMPC, EPR – can mean days or weeks of delays. For customs officials, those same rules are mandatory safeguards for safety, consumer rights, and the environment. If we raise the issue of inefficiency or corruption, Customs will paint us violators trying to dodge the law. Unfortunately, the line between regulatory vigilance and harassment is often blurry,” said a senior Customs house agent in Chennai.

From the homepage

Amid internal strife in Naxal ranks, Amit Shah draws the red line: ‘What talks? Drop weapons or…’

Former J&K CM Farooq Abdullah hospitalised in Srinagar

Hyderabad youth in US for Master’s degree shot dead at gas station, where he worked part-time