Al Amin :
The dishonest importers have evaded a big amount of revenue by misusing the Master Airway Bill and Import General Manifest (IGM) system, a probe body finds.
The body, formed by the National Board of Revenue (NBR), also found that SMI World Wide Express Currier and Cargo Ltd with the help of three C&F agents released goods by prepaving 42 fake bills in the name of a bonded warehouse facilitated apparel company recently.
An IGM is a legal document that is completed by the carrier of the goods at the destination customs location and it contains the details of any goods arriving at that destination.
The NBR issued a circular in July, 2020 by making mandatory Master Airway Bill and IGM submission in order to bring transparency in the courier wing of the revenue board and to stop the fraud.
But the officials of the Dhaka Customs House were reluctant to follow the circular properly and the dishonest traders with the help of customs clearance and forwarding agents (C&F agent) got their goods released in the name of bonded facilitated companies.The government has lost hundreds of crores of revenues due to the loophole of the NBR officials, according to the probe body.
The probe body said there was a massive fraud in the courier branch of Dhaka Custom House in the last two years.
They also placed four-point recommendations to follow the circular strictly, and to stop the duty evasion.
The probe body found that SMI World Wide Express Currier and Cargo Ltd with the help of three C&F agents released goods by making 42 fake bills in the name of Maxim Fashion Limited, a Chittagong-based company, recently.
“As the airlines were not obliged to submit the Master Airway bill and IGM, the courier company released goods without any hassle in the name of the bonded company and evaded big amount of duties,” a member of the probe body, wishing his anonymity, told The New Nation on Saturday.
“We have identified some similar duty evasion incidents and are investigating the incidents,” he said.
Usually, a bonded apparel company takes Utilization of declaration (UD) from the concerned association before importing raw materials.
But the three C&F agents released goods by making these 42 invoices with fake UD and certificate of concerned Lien Bank of the Maxim Fashion Ltd, the probe report said.
Besides, there is no record in the pass book of the concerned company and also in the pass book of customs, it said.
In a letter, the BGMEA requested the Dhaka Customs House to take legal action against the accused persons by conducting proper investigation.
“It was too difficult to identify the fraud due to the weakness of the IGM system,” said another official of the Dhaka Customs House.
