The Prime Minister's Office has moved to assess the total economic losses involving some 2000 imported cars stuck up at the Mongla seaport following duty disputes.
Bank liabilities and arrears of the importers are among the factors to be taken into account in the calculations as to who lost how much, official sources said.     Â
Economic affairs adviser to the PM Dr Mashiur Rahman will hold a meeting Sunday with a seven-point agenda on the table to settle the matter of stranded cars.
Total amount of due duties of the customs authority, progress in seizure, rent of the Mongla Port Authority, amount of demurrage waiver, disagreement, if any, between police and customs, and status of cases under process in the Supreme Court will be discussed at the meeting.
The PMO has sought from the National Board of Revenue (NBR) details of the financial involvement and losses on account of the stuck-up cars for both the government and the importers.
On October 07, 2015, the PMO decided to hand over the stuck-up reconditioned cars to the police by December 31 next. However, the police will choose the cars that are usable by them.  Â
Following the decision, the reconditioned car importers' association BARVIDA urged the government to sit with the importers prior to taking any such decision. They also blamed an unusual delay on part of the customs authority for their financial crunch.
Talking to the FE, Abdul Huq, former president of the BARVIDA, said the importers are expecting a bailout to survive economically.
 "We are hopeful about resolving the situation. Already technical quality of the cars has deteriorated. Importers are paying bank interest and bearing losses for those cars,"
The car importers wanted to make the Mongla port vibrant in response to government's desire but valuation anomalies complicated the situation, the businessman said.
Mr Huq has Tk 870 million bank liabilities alone against the import of cars.
The cars, valued about Tk 3.0 billion, remained stuck in the port for valuation complexities since 2009.
The Bangladesh Reconditioned Vehicle Importers and Dealers Association (BARVIDA) said investments of the car owners are in jeopardy as they could not release the cars from ports due to unusual delays on part of the NBR in implementing previous decisions of the PMO and the Finance Minister.
doulot_akter@yahoo.com
PMO moves to assess cost of cars stuck up at Mongla port
Doulot Akter Mala | Published: November 26, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00
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