LUCKNOW, Sept. 19 -- The Uttar Pradesh commercial tax department has seized Apple iPhones and MacBooks worth Rs.40 lakh at Lucknow airport for allegedly being brought into the state without proper documents, officials said. A team of the department's Lucknow Zone-I, Lucknow Division-I, intercepted a consignment at Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport on September 13. The consignment comprised iPhone 15 and iPhone 17 models and MacBook M2 laptops, with an assessed value of Rs.40 lakh. According to additional commissioner (SIB), Lucknow Zone-I, Manoj Kumar Vishwkarma, the goods had been brought from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, without bills or e-way bills. The consignment were subsequently taken to department's office on 5-Mirabai Marg in Hazratganj, where consignment was physically verified. He said a notice was issued to the trader and, after the tax liability was determined, an amount of Rs.14.32 lakh, twice the applicable tax, was deposited as penalty. The goods were thereafter released. "The action followed concerns that expensive Apple products, including newer iPhone models, were being purchased from states where they were comparatively cheaper and transported to Uttar Pradesh for unauthorised sale through rail, air and road routes," Vishwakarma said. The department also said that about Rs.5.66 lakh in penalty had earlier been deposited in a separate case involving mobile phones and accessories brought by bus without bills. Another consignment of mobile phones allegedly brought by rail from Mumbai, Maharashtra, was also intercepted by department's first and second mobile squads in Lucknow and action was initiated. Officials said enforcement teams were keeping watch on goods being transported through rail, road and air routes without proper documentation....