Govt denied Tk 6cr tax a month

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An investigation by the National Board of Revenue (NBR) found that on an average importers evade government tax of Tk 6.25 crore per month at Sonamasjid land port in Chapainawabganj, with the help of some customs and other government officials.
The importers allegedly evade the customs duties on imported goods from India in collusion with some customs officials mainly by making false declarations about the weights of the goods imported.

“Making false declarations about the weights of the goods in loaded trucks is one of the main ways of dodging government duties,” said a source.

Sources said a total of 5,105 fruit laden trucks, with average capacity of bearing 15 metric tons of load, were allowed through Sonamasjid land port from India in the FY 2005-06, but the importers showed the average capacity of those trucks as 10 metric tons to evade customs and other duties.

“In the financial year 2005-06, importers evaded government taxes worth about Tk 41 crore by showing lower than real weights of fruit laden trucks,” said a source.

“A huge number of fruit laden trucks were released through the land port without charging them any government tax in presence of customs officials during the last ten years,” said a senior officer of Rajshahi Commissionerate. Locally the system was introduced by some customs and government officials, which is known as ’stand released’.

In July last year, a total of 735 truckload of fruits were imported from India through Sonamasjid land port showing the average weight of the fruits in those trucks as 15 metric tons on the Indian side. But the average weight of the imported goods was shown as 11.73 metric tons on the Bangladesh side, the sources added.

Sultan Md Iqbal, commissioner of the Customs Excise and Vat Commissionerate of Rajshahi, acknowledged the phenomenon over the telephone on July 18. “A large number of cases were filed against importers under the customs and criminal acts in connection with evasion of taxes in the last ten years,” said Commissioner Sultan Md Iqbal.

The NBR investigation report identified one fruit importer, who had evaded taxes and duties worth Tk 3.28 crore in only four months from January to April of 2004 through preparing fake Bills of Entry. Some clearing and forwarding agents at the land port were also involved in the crime, the investigation found.

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