New Delhi, July 21 (TIWN) The central government has taken a serious note of a surge in the illegal transfer of raw incense sticks from Vietnam to India under the garb of import of joss powder, which attracts zero per cent duty and is a raw material used in making 'agarbatti' or incense sticks, ever since the import of such incense sticks was put under the 'restricted' category in August 2019 by India.

According to government sources, the huge surge in the import of supposedly joss powder from Vietnam – which has led to revenue loss to the exchequer due to import duty evasion as well as loss of employment in joss-sticks manufacturing units -– has prompted the authorities to hunt for the smuggling cartel operating in India apart from Vietnam and may even order a CBI probe in the coming days.

The sources said that the government is mulling to order a CBI probe to expose the unholy nexus of corrupt traders and officials.

Joss powder is used in a very small quantity in making incense sticks. For making 1,000 incense sticks, 500 gm charcoal powder, 400 gm wood powder, 300 gm bamboo sticks and only 100 gm joss powder are required.

The sources said that after the government put the raw incense sticks under the restricted category on August 31 last year to check imports from China and Vietnam, it noticed a four-fold spike in joss powder import from Vietnam in four months thereafter even as import of raw incense sticks declined to certain extent.