Although there are apparently stringent rules to govern the bonded warehousing facility to firms, particularly garment exporters, the allegation that raw and packing materials imported free of cost and warehoused under the supervision of the Customs wing of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) are recklessly pilfered.
It is alleged that taking advantage of the bonded warehousing facility, some dishonest exporters misuse the system by selling the duty-free imported goods in the local market, instead of using them in their production line. According to a recent news report, Dhaka Customs office has detected irregularities of Tk 147 crore tax evasion in an export-oriented factory at the Dhaka Export Processing Zone by misusing the bonded facility.
Besides, on January 18, customs officials also managed to foil the sale of 75,000 kgs raw materials of rubber in the open market in Cumilla, carried in six covered vans. In 2019, the NBR had carried out combing operation against misuse of bonded facility in Islampur of Dhaka city, several points in Narayanganj, Narsingdi and Sirajganj. But again these unscrupulous businessmen have become active to misuse this facility.
It is indeed shocking that these materials are imported under fraudulent documents at the expense of huge government revenue. The fraud licence holders sometimes also use fake addresses to escape monitoring mechanism.
But the big question that cannot be avoided is the manner in which it is practiced. For, it is the customs officials who are the custodians of bonded warehouses. They are meant to guard against any kind of misdeeds. The common perception is that it is a well-protected system, and with its continuation over the decades it should have been protected enough to stop and detect any malpractice.
