Prof. ABM. Mosharraf Husain, Bagerhat :
The activities of the 2nd Sea Port of the country started at Mongla under Bagerhat district some 10 decades ago but at the same time its Customs House was established at Khalishpur industrial area in Khulna City Corporation, at least 58 kilometers away from Mongla.
Due to this, a businessman is to run between Mongla and Khulna like a shuttle cock at least 2 to 3 times in order to fix up the customs duty and to release the imported goods.
Consequently, on the one hand, it is delayed to take delivery of the imported goods and businessmen are to suffer a lot of inconveniences. For this they (businessmen) strongly demanded the shifting of the Customs House from (Khalispur in Khulna) to Mongla long ago. Though the assurance was given by the concerned authorities time to time to transfer the Customs House to Mongla, it was not materialized so far.
At last Shahjahan Khan, Minister-in-charge of Water Transport affair directed the concerned authorities to shift the Customs House (from Khalishpur, Khulna) to Mongla in a meeting of the Advisory Committee of Mongla Port held in the year 2011. After that though 6 years already passed, the direction of the minister yet to be materialized. The customs authorities told construction of both administrative and residential buildings and the shifting processing of the Customs House already started. According to them, it is very difficult to implement the same and time consumed one.
This sea port started its functioning on December 01 in the year 1950. At present there is a unit of Customs House at Mongla. It mainly checks the imported goods excluded from declaration, smuggling and contraband goods, fix up the customs duties, open the containers and discharges other incidental duties. But all the important and administrative duties like examination and approval the fixing up the customs duties, clearing and forwarding (C and F) activities are done by the Customs House situated at Khalishpur. Not only that but also this main Customs House also discharges IGM (paper of the declaration of imported goods), banking, chemical test etc. works.
Abdul Haq, proprietor of Haq’s Automobiles, the first importer of cars through Mongla port and former president of Bangladesh Reconditioned Vehicles Importers and Dealers’ Association (BRVIDA) told the newsmen over mobile phone, we are to suffer a lot of inconveniences to perform our concerned works at two different places (Mongla and Khulna). We are to spend a whole day only to take delivery of the imported cars and other goods after clearing off the customs duties. If the customs house was situated at Mongla port we would get rid of spoiling a whole day and these sufferings. In all the developed countries the customs houses are attached to the sea ports. Even the customs house of Chittagong Sea port is attached to the port.
The problem will not be solved only with the shifting of the Customs House to Mongla, it is opined by M. Rafiqul Islam, President , Bangladesh Shipping Agents’ Association. He added, offices of banking service, clearing and forwarding (C & F) and shipping agencies should also be transferred to Mongla from Khulna along with the shifting of the main Customs House. The Government should consider the matter with great importance.
But the officials of the Customs House at Khalishpur (Khulna) expressed a different opinion. According to them, shifting of the entire Customs House from Khalishpur to Mongla is a very difficult one due to infrastructure problems and other complications. Jahangir Alam, Deputy Commissioner (DC), Mongla Customs House told, we have as many as 170 officers and employees. But we have no such buildings and residential houses at Molngla to accommodate the total customs house and the office staff.
On the other hand, there are no such private buildings can be hired at Mongla to accommodate the office of the Customs House and office staff and their family-members. The DC, Customs House added, a plan of development project for the construction of office buildings and residential structures in the protected area of Mongla Port was submitted as a plan to the Planning Commission in the present fiscal year for its approval. The concerned ministry sent a letter to the customs house for its revision. It will be sent back to the ministry within the shortest time after it is revised.
Margub Ahmed, Commissioner of Mongla Customs House told the newsmen, shifting of the customs house to Mongla is now a demand of the time. By this time we have started to process the matter buut the entire procedure is very complicated one and subject to consumption of times.
Commodore A K M Hasan, Chairman of Mongla Sea Port Authority told the newsmen, we demand the shifting of Mongla Customs House to Mongla at any cost and a number of rooms of traffic department of the port were already allotted to the Customs Department in order to meet the emergency. But those rooms, perhaps, cannot accommodate all the sections of the Department.
The activities of the 2nd Sea Port of the country started at Mongla under Bagerhat district some 10 decades ago but at the same time its Customs House was established at Khalishpur industrial area in Khulna City Corporation, at least 58 kilometers away from Mongla.
Due to this, a businessman is to run between Mongla and Khulna like a shuttle cock at least 2 to 3 times in order to fix up the customs duty and to release the imported goods.
Consequently, on the one hand, it is delayed to take delivery of the imported goods and businessmen are to suffer a lot of inconveniences. For this they (businessmen) strongly demanded the shifting of the Customs House from (Khalispur in Khulna) to Mongla long ago. Though the assurance was given by the concerned authorities time to time to transfer the Customs House to Mongla, it was not materialized so far.
At last Shahjahan Khan, Minister-in-charge of Water Transport affair directed the concerned authorities to shift the Customs House (from Khalishpur, Khulna) to Mongla in a meeting of the Advisory Committee of Mongla Port held in the year 2011. After that though 6 years already passed, the direction of the minister yet to be materialized. The customs authorities told construction of both administrative and residential buildings and the shifting processing of the Customs House already started. According to them, it is very difficult to implement the same and time consumed one.
This sea port started its functioning on December 01 in the year 1950. At present there is a unit of Customs House at Mongla. It mainly checks the imported goods excluded from declaration, smuggling and contraband goods, fix up the customs duties, open the containers and discharges other incidental duties. But all the important and administrative duties like examination and approval the fixing up the customs duties, clearing and forwarding (C and F) activities are done by the Customs House situated at Khalishpur. Not only that but also this main Customs House also discharges IGM (paper of the declaration of imported goods), banking, chemical test etc. works.
Abdul Haq, proprietor of Haq’s Automobiles, the first importer of cars through Mongla port and former president of Bangladesh Reconditioned Vehicles Importers and Dealers’ Association (BRVIDA) told the newsmen over mobile phone, we are to suffer a lot of inconveniences to perform our concerned works at two different places (Mongla and Khulna). We are to spend a whole day only to take delivery of the imported cars and other goods after clearing off the customs duties. If the customs house was situated at Mongla port we would get rid of spoiling a whole day and these sufferings. In all the developed countries the customs houses are attached to the sea ports. Even the customs house of Chittagong Sea port is attached to the port.
The problem will not be solved only with the shifting of the Customs House to Mongla, it is opined by M. Rafiqul Islam, President , Bangladesh Shipping Agents’ Association. He added, offices of banking service, clearing and forwarding (C & F) and shipping agencies should also be transferred to Mongla from Khulna along with the shifting of the main Customs House. The Government should consider the matter with great importance.
But the officials of the Customs House at Khalishpur (Khulna) expressed a different opinion. According to them, shifting of the entire Customs House from Khalishpur to Mongla is a very difficult one due to infrastructure problems and other complications. Jahangir Alam, Deputy Commissioner (DC), Mongla Customs House told, we have as many as 170 officers and employees. But we have no such buildings and residential houses at Molngla to accommodate the total customs house and the office staff.
On the other hand, there are no such private buildings can be hired at Mongla to accommodate the office of the Customs House and office staff and their family-members. The DC, Customs House added, a plan of development project for the construction of office buildings and residential structures in the protected area of Mongla Port was submitted as a plan to the Planning Commission in the present fiscal year for its approval. The concerned ministry sent a letter to the customs house for its revision. It will be sent back to the ministry within the shortest time after it is revised.
Margub Ahmed, Commissioner of Mongla Customs House told the newsmen, shifting of the customs house to Mongla is now a demand of the time. By this time we have started to process the matter buut the entire procedure is very complicated one and subject to consumption of times.
Commodore A K M Hasan, Chairman of Mongla Sea Port Authority told the newsmen, we demand the shifting of Mongla Customs House to Mongla at any cost and a number of rooms of traffic department of the port were already allotted to the Customs Department in order to meet the emergency. But those rooms, perhaps, cannot accommodate all the sections of the Department.
