Tk 20cr imported fabrics seized for duty evasion
Custom House, Chattogram seized 50 tonnes of fabrics worth Tk 20 crore last week on finding evidence of it being imported forging seals and signatures of Customs Bond Commissionerate, Dhaka.
It filed two cases with Bandar Police Station accusing five persons of evading duty worth Tk 2.30 crore.
One person has been arrested, an employee of clearing and forwarding (C&F) agent Lira International, confirmed Officer-in-Charge Nazim Uddin.
"We are trying to arrest the rest," he added.
The accused are Permess South East Asia, a sister concern of Newtex Group, Chairman Evart Jan Beren Pass, Managing Director Md Aftab Khan and Director Risat Khan and Lira International's Proprietor Nasir Ullah and employee Riton Chowdhury.
The Permess, facilitated by the Lira, imported the fabric submitting fake documents to avail duty-free benefit worth Tk 2.30 crore under bonded warehouse facility.
Customs officials said the facility was meant only for 100 per cent export-oriented industries and that a certificate from bond offices concerned needed to be provided for the release of the imported goods from the port.
The company was not eligible for the facility as it had exported nothing for the past couple of years, they said.
Contacted, the Permess General Manager (production) MD Kibria said, "The C&F agent submitted the fake documents to customs without our permission."
"We were not able to collect the certificate from the bond office on time due to the Covid-19 pandemic," he said.
He claimed that they had submitted an application at the bond office for a certificate.
Nasir Ullah of Lira International did not pick up his phone.
AKM Sultan Mahamud, deputy commissioner of the custom house, said the importer was required to submit a certificate from Customs Bond Commissionerate, Dhaka for availing the duty-free privilege.
The importer forged the seal and signature of the officer concerned and submitted a fake certificate for the release of the consignments, he added.
"Investigation is ongoing over whether any similar product had been released in the past," he added.
The certificate bore signatures of Deputy Commissioner Kanchan Rani Dutta and states to have been issued by the bond commissionerate, all of which were later found to be fake by customs officials who contacted the deputy commissioner.
According to customs, 31 departmental and nine criminal cases have been filed against 62 importers and C&F agents over attempts at releasing goods though signature forgery and fake websites between June 2015 and June 2021.
The signatures being forged are of officials of the commerce ministry, the Department of Livestock, Atomic Energy Commission, Eastern Refinery and the Department of Agricultural Extension.
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