NBR postpones order on assessing duty of packaged goods

The National Board of Revenue has postponed an order on the assessment of duty of imported packaged goods such as cosmetics and perfumes.

The NBR in October last year directed field offices of customs to calculate the duty of imported items by adding the duty for the containers if the cost of the packing materials is not included in the import prices.

For ease of valuation, the revenue collector said duty could be calculated by determining the prices of the packaging materials based on weight per kilogramme.

On February 12, the NBR issued a circular saying that the previous order has been halted to allow quick valuation of duties of the imported items. Altaf Hossain Chowdhury, general secretary of the Chittagong Customs Clearing and Forwarding Agents Association, said he came to know about the decision on February 12. The decision on postponement of the previous order became effective yesterday, he said, adding that import of packaged items was likely to rise.

The NBR's order came after the Customs Intelligence and Investi-gation Directorate (CIID) had warned of an increase in false declarations because of the ruling.

The CIID in a letter to the NBR chairman at the end of last month said customs stations were assessing duties differently from one another as the directive has created ambiguity in the field offices.

As a result, various interpretations and practices in duty assessment of products emerged among customs offices, said the letter.

The move had also raised concerns about an increase in duty of consumer goods imported in packaged form leading to a spiral in prices of the commodities in the domestic market.

The letter, signed by CIID Director General Moinul Khan, said duties were calculated by considering the gross weight of imported goods as net weight.