Kazi Zahidul Hasan :
The Shipping Ministry and the National Board of Revenue (NBR) are at loggerheads over realising higher charge on transshipment cargoes through river routes under Bangladesh-India Shipping Protocol.
The charge was fixed at Tk130 per tonne goods at a secretary-level meeting between Bangladesh and India last year.
NBR in a letter to the Ministry recently raised abjection about the charge and asked for realising additional charge of Tk 310 leading to a tussle between the ministry and the tax administration, official sources said.
The breakdown of the charge is Tk 130 for per tonne cargo or goods, Tk 300 for scanning and Tk 10 for providing automation service.
“We have fixed the charge of transshipment cargoes last year after negotiation with the Indian counterpart with a provision for review. A representative of NBR was also present when the agreed minutes was signed between the two countries to fix the charge,” a senior Shipping Ministry official told The New Nation on Sunday, asking not to be named.
He said, even the charge was approved by the Prime Minister’s Office of Bangladesh.
“It’s nothing but a ‘non-cooperation’ by the NBR”, said the Shipping Ministry official, adding, “It raises the objection at a time when everything is set for transshipment of goods through river routes under Bangladesh-India Shipping Protocol”.
The official at the Shipping Ministry further said that such a move of NBR also puts a barrier on transshipment facility that was provided to Indian side earlier. “We see nothing wrong with the additional charge as the agreed minutes did not tag the condition that the NBR can’t levy the scanning and automation fees at the time of customs clearance of transshipment cargoes,” a senior NBR official told The New Nation on Sunday, justifying the move of the country’s apex revenue authority.
Terming the NBR’s move logical, he said, “It raises the objection properly following the rules of the agreed minutes”.
The NBR official further said, the additional charge should put in place to ensure a viable and effective transshipment operation under Bangladesh-India Shipping Protocol. When asked, he said, “We are not creating roadblocks to it rather giving a push to an ethical charge on cargo movement under the transshipment facilities”.
