Unreleased Imported Goods at Ctg Port: No trace of 295 consignments!

At least 295 consignments of goods have gone missing from a restricted area of the Chattogram port, say customs officials.

They were among the 5,584 unreleased shipments which arrived at the port between July 2016 and November 2017. The goods were supposed to be put up for auction as the importers did not receive them within the deadline.

The missing goods include chemicals, plastic products, vehicles, auto parts, electronic equipment, food items, leather goods, construction materials, ceramics and machinery. They came in 425 containers from several countries, including China, India and the UK, they said.

The officials did not say what the estimated value of the products was.

Yesterday, The Daily Star got a list of the over 100 importers, who brought in the 295 consignments. This newspaper is not publishing the names as it could not contact them for comments.

Customs Commissioner AKM Nuruzzaman confirmed that a recent investigation found the consignments went missing from the port.

“At the primary stage of the probe, more than 1,000 [out of the 5,584] consignments could not be traced at the port yards. But the committee is not sure if all the 1,000 consignments have gone missing,” he said.

In January last year, the Chattogram Customs House (CCH) formed a five-member probe committee after the National Board of Revenue had sought an update on the 5,584 unreleased consignments.

But the operation of the committee came to a standstill several months later after the transfer of its chief, Additional Commissioner Mohammad Shafi Uddin.

Joint Commissioner HM Shariful Hasan then replaced Shafi. After learning about the missing consignments, the probe body wrote to the terminal manager of the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) last month. In the letter, it asked for information on those consignments.

Nuruzzaman said though customs officials are responsible for assessing and clearing goods, it is the port authorities' duty to load and unload, store and hand over containers to the importers.

“We have also sent a letter to the port authorities asking about the 295 consignments,” he said, adding that the number of total missing consignments would be known after the probe was over.

Chittagong Port Authority Terminal Manager Saruarul Islam denied that the containers went missing.

“There is no chance of any container going missing from a restricted area such as the port ... We have received a letter from the customs and have already informed it about the latest status of the containers.”

Talking to this newspaper yesterday, the committee chief said they were yet to be updated on the issue.

Asked about Saruarul's claim, he said, “They [CPA] have not contacted me yet. They need to show us the containers.”

After the arrival and before the release of goods, consignments are kept in the Port Restricted Area, which is supervised by the CPA. Only the authorised people have access to the place.

CPA sources said majority of the area is not under any CCTV camera coverage.

Under the Customs Act 1969, imported goods must be released from the port within 30 days of unloading from a vessel. If any importer fails to do so, the Chattogram Custom House sends a notice, allowing the importer another 15 days. The goods can be sold through auction after that, customs sources said. 

But the customs authorities have failed to hold any auction for the 5,584 unreleased consignments even after the goods reached the port more than a year ago. Customs officials estimate the goods would worth around Tk 5,000 crore.

Asked, Customs Commissioner Nuruzzaman said, “It was not possible to put the goods up for auction on time due to a lack of manpower and other logistic supports.

“The authorities need to test the goods for ensuring their quality before the items are auctioned. They also need to prepare a complete list of the goods for ascertaining their values and country of origin. All these take time.”

Often many importers don't take delivery of goods as prices go down in Bangladesh. Also, some importers fail to come up with proper documents to have their goods released. In some cases, the importers are reluctant to pay fines for various anomalies. Because of such reasons, imported goods remain stranded at the port, said customs officials.

Altaf Hossain Bachchu, general secretary of the Customs and Forwarding (C&F) Agent Association, told The Daily Star, "The unreleased consignments should be put up for auction regularly if the authorities want to ensure that they are not plundered.”  C&F companies are responsible for importing products as representatives of the importers.

He said the auction process was lengthy and it should be made simpler. “Otherwise, consignments will keep lining up for auctions.”

As of Monday, 6,494 consignments were awaiting auction at the port, said sources there.

According to the customs auction department sources, the customs authorities sold goods worth Tk 43 crore in fiscal 2016-17 through auctions, Tk 48 crore in FY 2017-18, and Tk 38 crore in the last six months of FY 2018-19 (June-December).

On September 20, 2015, 14 unreleased containers of imported glycerine worth Tk 70 lakh went missing from the port. Two days later, the customs authorities recovered those containers from a private inland container depot in Pahartali area in city.