China issued a warning earlier this month after it was revealed that local units of other Chinese companies had evaded customs duty.
According to the finance ministry, Oppo India wrongly declared the description of certain items it imported, which allowed it to take advantage of the duty exemption benefits.
The ministry said it searched the offices of Oppo India and members of its management team, who they said accepted the submission of wrongful description before the Customs Authorities.
The ministry said that Oppo India deals with other brands. If the market share of all these units are to be combined, Oppo India is the largest vendor. It didn't reply to the request for comment.
During the course of investigation, searches were conducted at the office premises of Oppo India and residences of its key management employees, which resulted in the recovery of incriminating evidence.
The ministry said that Oppo India made royalty and licence fee payments of over $176 million to other companies, including some in China, and did not reveal the value of goods imported by them.
The ministry said that Oppo India hasvoluntarily deposited about $56.5 million.
The Enforcement Directorate raided dozens of phone-maker Vivo's operations and production sites across multiple states in the country.
The firm used forged documentation when it was incorporated in India. The agency seized bank accounts with millions of dollars in connection with India.
China's embassy in India criticized the indian authorities after the ED moved. The embassy said that investigations into local units of Chinese firms in India deterred the improvement of the business environment in India.
The Chinese Embassy in India wishes that the Indian side provides a fair, just and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese firms.
In 2020 there was a skirmish at the border. India has not named China in its orders, but has imposed restrictions on Chinese firms.
New Delhi has banned hundreds of Chinese apps in the past two years due to national security concerns. India amended its foreign direct investment policy in 2020 to require neighboring countries with which it shares a boundary to get approval from New Delhi for their future deals in the country. Only Pakistan and Bangladesh were subject to this requirement before.
India Cellular and Electronics Association, a lobby group that represents several tech giants including Apple and Amazon, in May urged New Delhi to intervene and alleged ED of lacking understanding of just how royalty payments work in the tech industry.
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