I am closing my Firm! Big Allegations of Bribery on Chennai Customs Officers

The finance ministry has ordered an investigation into complaints raised on social media by a trading firm in Tamil Nadu. The firm alleged that it was forced to stop trading operations due to harassment by customs officials in Chennai.

The social media posts by the firm, Wintrack Inc., which deals in electronic items and accessories, triggered a social media discussion on alleged corruption in customs clearance.

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From October 1, 2025, our company will cease import/export activities in India.

For the past 45 days, Chennai Customs officials have relentlessly harassed us.

After exposing their bribery practices twice this year, they retaliated, effectively crippling our operations and… pic.twitter.com/PmGib8srmM

— WINTRACK INC (@wintrackinc) October 1, 2025

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Sequence of Events Leading to Our Closure

I will stay alive,i will survive,never give up 🙏🏻

On this Gandhi Jayanthi,Lets all join together to reduce,abolish corrupt hands

I have lost my health,got stress,still little left#wintrackinc #prawinganeshan #GandhiJayanthi… pic.twitter.com/NXJiMwEHLS

— WINTRACK INC (@wintrackinc) October 2, 2025

The post soon went viral on social media and Finance Ministry has to step in. The finance ministry said on social media platform X that the government has taken cognizance of the matter and a senior officer from the department of revenue has been deputed to conduct “a detailed factual enquiry, hearing the parties concerned, officials and thoroughly examining all relevant documentary evidence”.

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

Wintrack alleged on X that its decision to cease all import and export operations in India effective from 1 October comes after “repeated and unjustified harassment by officials at Chennai Customs over the past 45 days”. The company’s founder, Pravin Ganeshan, claimed in a video, also shared on social media, about the difficulties he faced in getting shipments released and alleged negotiations for bribes.

What Chennai Customs said?

Chennai customs rejected the firm’s claims, calling them false allegations.

The government has been implementing a series of taxpayer-friendly initiatives in recent years. These include the adoption of a taxpayer charter, the introduction of faceless customs procedures, and the establishment of appellate bodies for dispute resolution—with the objective of enhancing transparency and promoting ease of doing business.

The government has over the past 10 years taken steps to ease the compliance burden in customs procedure as part of improving India’s ease of doing business ranking and also as part of the drive towards paperless processing during the covid period.

Chennai Customs authorities said in a statement posted on X that some of the consignments of the company were found to be misclassified and that the importer could not produce the required environment certifications, adding that “allegations of harassment and non-cooperation are demonstrably false”.

They said that the firm is trying to create pressure on officials to release cargo without following due process.

They also said that at no stage was any payment or bribe demanded and that all queries pertained strictly to mandatory statutory compliance under Battery Waste Management Rules 2022, BIS Act 2016, Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules 2011, and Customs Act 1962.