Customs asks WB for details of 16 duty-free cars

The Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate yesterday sought information from the World Bank about 16 vehicles its officials brought in Bangladesh under a duty-free facility.

The National Board of Revenue in 2003 framed a rule that allowed foreigners, who work at the local offices of international development agencies like the WB, the International Monetary Fund and the Asian Development Bank, to import durables including vehicles at zero duty.

The durables brought in under the facility must be listed on a passbook, and when the foreigners leave Bangladesh for good, they should return the passbooks to the NBR and dispose of the durables.

The foreign nationals can chose to take back the durables with them or sell those to people with the same status as them, and the NBR must be informed about their choice of action.

If the persons leave the country without disposal, the head of the organisation concerned will be responsible for them, according to the rules.

And under the facility, the 16 WB employees brought in vehicles that now remain unaccounted for, according to customs intelligence.

The foreigners have left Bangladesh sometime back and some of the vehicles are plying the streets, said Moinul Khan, director general of CIID.

“We believe that the officials have sold those cars to local people for personal gain.”

“Such an act of noncompliance is a punishable offence under customs law and money laundering prevention law,” he said, adding that the vehicles can be seized by the government.

Subsequently, the CIID has given the Dhaka office of the Washington-based multilateral lender seven days to provide detailed information on the vehicles, including their present ownership and registration status.

Contacted, Qimiao Fan, WB's country director, told The Daily Star that the Dhaka office has already returned the customs passbooks of nine of the individuals mentioned in the CIID's letter.

“We are checking and locating the status of the remaining passbooks.”

Fan has also sought six months from the NBR for renewal and surrender of the rest of the passbooks, and said they will work closely with the revenue authority to resolve any discrepancies.