Al Amin :
The Lemond Apparels & Textiles Limited must have to pay Tk 7.17 crore as evaded revenue for misusing bonded warehouse license.
Of the amount, Tk 3.17 crore for violating bonded warehouse licensing rules and Tk 4 crore for violating rules of the Customs Act 1969.
According to an office order, the Customs Bond Commissionerate, Chattagram claimed that the company has evaded revenues worth over Tk 7.17 crore by misusing bonded warehouse license in 2019. The company has produced fake export agreement papers, false export bills and removed imported raw materials illegally in different times of the year, the order said. Following the loophole, the bond commissionerate issued a show-cause notice against the company on September 14, 2021 and asked to submit proper documents against it. Latter, the apparel producer submitted documents on October 21 and showed that it has imported raw materials in different times of 2019 but it was unable to pay taxes for various complexities.
The company also desired to pay the dues without penalty through NRBC Bank and Agrani Bank begging mercy for the forgery activities.
It also appealed for time and installment facilities to pay the due taxes as the factory was closed during the pandemic period. But scrutinizing all the papers, it produces to the commissionerate, it has been considered that the company sell the imported raw materials in the local markets illegally by violating rules of the bonded warehouse license, the office order said. In the company’s documents, it showed some 11 export agreement papers but the commissionerate did not find any agreement by contacting with the buyer companies through e-mail. So, it is proved that the company produced false documents to evade duties, it said.
Besides, the company sells the imported raw materials in the local markets by misusing bonded warehouse rules during the time as the factory was closed due to the pandemic, it said.
Taking part in the hearing, Md Iqbal Chowdhury, said that the irregularities were occurred when he was in abroad and appealed for time and installment facilities to pay the evaded revenues.
A K M Mahbubur Rahman, Commissioner of the Bond Commissionerate, told The New Nation, “The apparel company has now no other options but to pay the evaded revenue.”
