Al Amin:
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) is going to install modern baggage scanners at the country’s international airports and land customs (LC) stations to detect banned goods, prevent duty evasion and smuggling, and to expedite the release of imported goods.
The baggage scanner will also ensure security of the airports, help detecting fake and foreign currencies and quick release of imported goods through air freight, the NBR officials said.
Besides, the installment of the scanner machines will bring the baggage traders under control and more transparency in import-export trades.
The official has said that the country’s exports and imports are increasing day-by-day. Side-by-side, the duty evasion, gold smuggling, export-import of banned goods are also increasing.
The existing manual and back-dated machines are unable to detect these prohibited goods properly whereas the use of modern and advance technologies is a dire-need to accelerate the country’s international trade, they added.
Besides, as a signatory country of Trade Facilitation Agreement of the WTO, Bangladesh has to take more initiatives to boost the global trade, they added.
As part of the measures, the NBR has decided to use modern technology in order to enhance the existing capabilities of the customs stations of the country, they said.
Ahsan H Mansur, Executive Director of the Policy Research Institute (PRI), told The New Nation, “This is a good initiative on the part of the NBR and it will give more impetus to the country’s import and export.”
Primarily, the scanner machines will be set up at two major international airports and 10 customs stations and gradually it will be found in the other airports and customs stations, the NBR officials said. The two airports are Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka and Osmani International Airport in Sylhet. The LC stations are Akhaura LC Station, Darshona LC Station, Sonamosjid LC Station, Bhomra LC Station, Hilli LC Station, Burimari LC Station and Banglabandh LC Station.
They said all procurement and installment procedures are likely to be completed by the end of the upcoming fiscal year.
Kefayet Ullah, Assistant Commissioner of Burimari LC Station, said there are lots of pressure of passengers from India, Nepal and Bhutan at the station.
“We check each bag manually as we don’t have a baggage scanner. It takes times. It will be easy to complete the customs procedures, if the scanners are installed at the LC station,” he added. On the other hand, the NBR will also install a modern human body scanner at the Dhaka Customs House to protect smuggling.
Md Baizid Hossain, Assistant Commissioner of the Dhaka Customs House, told this correspondent, “Many smugglers are bringing gold their bodies. As a result using and some time, it becomes difficult to detect by the existing machines.”
“So, it will be easier to detect gold and other prohibited goods, if the human body scanner is being installed here,” he argued.
