NBR probe digs out rod import scam
May 30, 2009
An inquiry committee formed to probe the allegation of assessment of imported rods before a ship’s berthing in the country’s territorial waters blamed the automated assessor for the tax fraud. M Mominul Kabir has recently submitted the inquiry report to the National Board of Revenue (NBR), saying that Data Soft, the company that operates the automated systems of Chittagong seaport customs, ‘willingly or unwillingly made the mistake’.
As per the automation process, Data Soft submits the Import General Manifest (IGM) or Export General Manifest (EGM) to the Chittagong Customs House. The Customs just does the assessment based on the IGM or EGM of the Data Soft submissions made electronically.
The probe report said that Data Soft submitted the IGM to the Chittagong Customs House for assessment on May 6 and May 7. But they did not mention that the consignments were far away from Bangladesh waters. Customs House just assessed the import products with 7 percent import duty.
The matter of prior assessment came to light as the government imposed 15 percent VAT on import of MS rods and bars from May 12.
Earlier, in the middle of 2008, the caretaker government had abolished VAT and reduced duty to 7 per cent from 25 per cent to facilitate real estate and construction sectors when the price of MS rods hit an astronomical high.
But at the time when the SRO was issued the consignment of the finished rods was not even within the waters of the country.
NBR sources said that sometimes importers used to advance their paper works before arrival of the ships with import consignments.
In the consignments of two ships, Kabir Steel and SN Corporation made the advance assessment of 51,233 tonnes.
The enquiry committee in its report warned the Data Soft to be more careful before submitting entries.
It also suggested that the officials of Chittagong Customs House be cautious before making any assessment.
Responding to a question about punishment for this mistake of Data Soft, an NBR official told the news agency that as per the MoU signed between Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) and Data Soft there is no provision for punishing the Data Soft for their “willing or unwilling mistakes or fraudulence”.
The caretaker government in 2008 introduced the automation system with the aim of making import and export trade hassle-free. Data Soft got the job for bill of entry.
On May 24, the government again introduced the same automation in Dhaka Customs House where the Data Soft got the same job.
Source: The Daily Star
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