Prawin Ganeshan, founder of WinTrack, an importer of niche electronic gadgets, healthcare and lifestyle products, vows to stand his ground in the face of continued “harassment” by officials of the Chennai customs zone, the clearing authority that greenlights entry of imported products.
“Since January, over 20-25 shipments of the same product have been cleared; Why then has this shipment alone been held?” Ganeshan wondered aloud in his conversation with CNN-News18. Rebutting the CBIC’s X post that WinTrack has a history of false allegations and taking down posts, he said he took down a post in January after the resolution of an issue with the department, just like how any “businessman with gratitude would do”. Elaborating further, he said the department did
not accept that a bribe was demanded; instead, he accepted that there was a misdeclaration, resulting in higher duty. He agreed to it to facilitate the clearance of goods, so that he could continue his business.
#BreakingNews | Wintrack halts India operations, accuses Chennai customs of harassment and corruption@nimumurali shares more details and speaks to Wintrack owner @PrawinGaneshan @poonam_burde | #NationAt5 #Wintrack #Chennai #Customs pic.twitter.com/ZyE45FYTvb
— News18 (@CNNnews18) October 3, 2025
“In June, I had posted about harassment, and they’re still there. And now, I am not going to delete. There is no ‘pattern’ to this. The officials forget that from February to September, all items I have imported are the same. Previously, they had cleared all of them. But why are they holding this shipment?”
“They have proved that bribes are uncontrollable,” he said.
Ganeshan’s flurry of posts alleging harassment caught national attention and stretched the debate into the ease of doing business in India. Importers with similar experiences have begun posting on X about their ordeals, particularly about incidents of having bribed officials to get imports through.
The Chennai customs, through a post, clearly denied any instance of bribery or harassment, placing the blame on Ganeshan for not responding to the department’s questions on misdeclaration and misclassification.
The finance ministry has deputed a senior official with the department of revenue to carry out a probe. Meanwhile, Chennai customs reached out to Prawin by way of a direct message on X, asking him to be present at 10 am Saturday for an “inquiry”, according to Ganeshan.
He believes it will eventually end up in a situation where he is forced to “accept something” to ensure resolution and a way forward. “Some officers had reached out to me through some sources, hinting that they would affect my other businesses through raids. I have refused to delete any post. I stand by my words,” he told CNN-News18.
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