Rolls-royce importer: Customs fines importer Tk 56.4 crore for illegal release
The Chattogram Customs House has fined Z&Z Intimates Ltd Tk 56.4 crore for illegally releasing an imported Rolls Royce vehicle.
The company, owned by Ananta Group and located at Chattogram Export Processing Zone, will have to pay the fine as well as the Tk 24 crore in unpaid tax, according to an order issued by Chattogram Customs Commissioner Md Fyzur Rahman on October 12.
The Daily Star has obtained a copy of the order.
On July 6 this year, the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate seized the car, a Rolls Royce Cullinan, from the Dhaka residence of Z&Z Managing Director Sharif Zahir for the illegal release.
The vehicle was taken from Chattogram to Dhaka before customs assessment on May 17.
According to customs rules, no product can leave the port or customs house until assessment by customs officials.
In the order issued on October 12, the Z&Z managing director was asked to pay Tk 56.4 crore as penalty for violating Sections 9, 10, 16, 18, 80 and 111 of The Customs Act-1969.
The order said the importer would not get the duty-free facility even though they submitted an application to avail it as an export-oriented company. As a result, apart from the fine, the importer has to pay the customs duty of about Tk 24 crore, the order said.
Zahir, the Z&Z managing director, told The Daily Star, "We are being harassed by customs officials for no valid reason.
"Our company was accused of tax evasion of Tk 24 crore and fined about Tk 56.4 crore for importing a vehicle, although we have all legal documents with BEPZA's [Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority's] permission under the duty-free facility to import the car.
"We will go for further legal procedures," he added.
According to customs documents, the 6,750cc vehicle was imported from UK-based Vertex Auto Ltd.
The company submitted the documents under the 170 Customs Procedure Code to get the duty-free benefit as a listed company of the Bangladesh Export Processing Zone that set up factories in an EPZ area before 2009.
The Daily Star called Mohammad Fyzur Rahman, Chattogram customs commissioner, several times but he did not answer the phone.
Mohammad Fakhrul Alam, director general of CIID, told The Daily Star, "CIID seized the car for illegally releasing the car. Recently, we sent an investigation report in this regard to the Chattogram customs commissioner and urged him to take legal action as per rules."
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