107 tonnes of fabrics seized over ‘bond facility misuse’

The Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate (CIID) seized 107 tonnes of fabrics from a Chattogram warehouse on the charge that those were attempted to be sold in the open market violating bonded warehouse facilities. 

The bonded warehouse privilege enables zero-duty import of materials, albeit only for the production of goods that have to be exported.

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According to a CIID source, Savar-based wholly export-oriented Chinese company Goldtex Garments imported the fabrics worth Tk 5.10 crore through the Chattogram port using the bond facility at the beginning of this month.

The goods were found to have been stored in a Halishahar warehouse instead of the designated bonded warehouse in Savar, added the source.

"They were kept in a warehouse in Chattogram and were being sold in the open market for a long time," Mohammad Fakhrul Alam, director general of the CIID, told The Daily Star.

The company would have had to pay at least Tk 2.88 crore in duties if the fabrics had been brought for sale in the open market, he added.

Some unscrupulous exporters and clearing and forwarding (C&F) agents are engaged in the malpractice, said Md Bashir Ahmed, additional director general of the CIID's Chattogram office.

"We conducted a detailed investigation of the company's import and export data to identify the real scenario of duty dodging. We may file a money laundering case," he said. The goods were processed through the port by C&F agent Speedway Logistics on behalf of the importer.

Its proprietor, Khusrul Alam Akon, said, "We don't know anything about this yet. I can tell you later after knowing about this."