The revenue board is now planning to go for legal action as many development partners and UN organisations operating in Bangladesh missed the deadline for complying with the Customs notice regarding duty-free facility enjoyed by privileged persons.
Majority development partners and UN organisations did not respond while others could not reply satisfactory to the query of the Customs Bond Commissionarate (CBC), Dhaka about current position of 267 luxury cars imported under the duty-free facility by the privileged persons of the entities, officials said.
The CBC issued letters to the international organisations for clarifying the issue within the deadline by January 31, 2017.
In December, the CBC under the National Board of Revenue (NBR) issued letters to some 38 international organisations to return or renew passbooks that they issued in favour of privileged persons of the organisations.
The Customs authority set the deadline for some 395 passbooks most of which were used for import of luxury cars.
The bond commissionarate also warned that the organisations have to respond within the time-frame to avoid any untoward situation as per the Customs law.
With the privileged pass books, some 267 are luxurious cars were imported by the officials of the development partners under duty-free facility.
Official sources said some 14 organisations have responded to the Customs authority while rest 24 kept mum.
FAO country representative David Doolan, in his reply, wrote, "It was found that few of them in the list (listed as non-surrendered persons) had submitted their pass books while they left Bangladesh. However, a few of them still did not submit."
He assured recovering the passbooks through continuous perusal.
KOICA country director Joe Hyun Gue, in his reply, said, "Although we have reached all privileged persons of KOICA to get necessary documents, we have difficulty in providing information of more than past five years' customs passbooks on the attached list from the CBC."
WHO administrative officer Norbu Wangchuk sought more time to search the passbooks and reply giving details.
IFC office administrator Mohammad Ferdous Hossain also requested for some additional time to find out passbook status of its three former officials.
GIZ, ICDDRB, UNFPA, UNCEF, JAICA, UNDP, WFP, Asia Foundation, ILO, IRRI, IFC, KOICA, WHO and CIRDAP replied to the letter of the Customs bond office.
Sources said the CBC has found involvement of officials of 21 international organisations in illegal car transfer.
As deadline expired, the commissionarate would now start issuing show cause notices as per the Section 179 of Customs Act 1969 if it receives instruction from the NBR, a senior customs official said.
Heads of these international organisations may have to sit for hearing with the Customs for removing the irregularities as per Customs law, he added.
Heads of the organisations will be held responsible for the irregularities, he added.
The CBC issues pass books with certification of the heads of the organisations and they are bound to return the pass books, he added.
Officials said the Customs intelligence and investigation directorate is also investigating to trace the 267 luxury cars.
A senior official of the directorate said they got hints that the cars were sold out illegally by some of the privileged persons, abusing the duty-free facility.
"Most of the cars do not have any trace. The cars were imported since 1990s," he said.
The Customs intelligence has contacted the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) to find out the cars on the basis of their chasis numbers and addresses of registration, he added.
"Around 50 per cent of the cars have been registered by the BRTA and the rest by the ministry of foreign affairs," he added.
The Customs intelligence team would also write to the foreign ministry seeking its cooperation, he added.
Buyers of those cars have also responsibility if they purchased the cars from auction.
There are four rules for handing over the cars imported under duty-free facility by the privileged persons.
The cars can be handed over to the Customs authority or another privileged person or put into auction or could be disposed of through payment of tax.
The Customs authority can impose penalty up to 10 times of the applicable duty of the car for not abiding by the law under the Customs Act, 1969. Even, criminal case can be filed against the person involved in the irregularities.
The Customs authority issued the passbooks to the development partners to import cars and other goods under The Privileged Persons (customs procedures) Rules 2003, SRO 237-Law/2003/2015 Cus, dated August 2, 2003, clause 6, clause-7 and clause-9.
The privileged persons can import cars and other products under duty-free facility using those passbooks.
Under the Customs rules, it is mandatory for the privileged persons to hand over the passbooks to the authority concerned before leaving Bangladesh.
In case of violation of the rules, the office chief/head of the development partners and international organisations of the respective passbook holders have to resolve the matters within 60 days of departure from the country by the privileged person (s) of their offices.
doulot_akter@yahoo.com
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