Customs detect cases of money laundering thru’ under-invoicing

DOULOT AKTER MALA | Published: March 04, 2023 22:54:18

The risk management wing of Bangladesh Customs has unearthed a couple of money laundering cases through under-invoicing on the import of identical goods by evading taxes.
Customs found that the value of identical products was shown lower in Chattogram Customs House (CCH) than that of Inland Container Depot (ICD) Dhaka.
Usually, the value of products released in the ICD goes up as importers have to change the mode of carriers to bring their products to the capital city from customs ports.
Officials of the Customs Risk Management Commissionarate said those cases are "a tip of the iceberg" compared to the huge volume of money laundering incidents using similar tactics.
The risk management wing under the National Board of Revenue (NBR) recently submitted two comprehensive reports to the revenue board high-ups after analysing the bill of entries (B/Es) of import and post-clearance audit (PCA).
It has recommended the revenue board take action against the companies under the Money Laundering Prevention Act-2012 through under-invoicing.
A senior official of the risk management wing said the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) of the Bangladesh Bank is also working on those reports.
The wing has lodged reports against two companies: Zayan Traders Ltd (BIN 002965984-0208) and Moto MotionBD (BIN-003386531-0208), located in the city's Kakrail and New Eskaton Road.
After scrutinising 11 bills of entry, customs officials found the importers brought identical goods through Chattogram Customs House and Customs House Inland Container Depot, Kamalapur, Dhaka.
The 11 import invoices of the same importers have identical product brands, models, engine capacities, country of origin, country of export and exporting company, showing the reports obtained by the FE.
As the importers showed less value in the CCH, the customs officials conducted an assessment that suggests goods imported by Zayan Traders Ltd logged the bills $104-$284 lower than the actual value of the goods.
Thus, the government has lost Tk 12 million in revenue from the company, according to the report.
In the case of Motomotionbd, the customs officials reviewed five B/Es and detected a capital flight worth $33,008.51 through under-invoicing.
The risk management wing has found that customs assessment has been done at a $9.43-$ 434.05 lower value.
Customs officials said there is no reason to decrease prices for the same imported products in ICD than that of CCH. From Motomotionbd, the government lost Tk 4.5 million in revenue.
An official of the risk management wing said the tactics are widely used for under-invoicing and money laundering through under-invoicing.
He said the task of the wing is to identify the risk and detect the vulnerable areas and tactics that are widely used for customs duty evasion.
The official said cross-checking the declared customs value of identical products in the major customs stations could be one of the major tools to identify the culprits.
The risk Management commissionerate is empowered to detect irregularities and recommend the government for taking punitive and preventive action.
Customs officials said the release of products could be expedited if the government could find out the vulnerable factors and offer a green channel to honest traders.
Under the Customs Act 1969, risk management is necessary for identifying and evaluating the risks, and developing the necessary counter-measures.
When contacted, representatives of the two alleged companies were not willing to talk over the phone.
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