PSI co replies to NBR's show cause notice

FE Team | Published: September 26, 2007 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

Doulot Akter Mala
The Pre-Shipment Inspection (PSI) Company M/S Cotecna Inspection SA has responded to the showcause notice issued by the National Board of Revenue (NBR) and sought for a hearing on its performance.
The board will soon arrange for a hearing to verify the allegations that has been levelled against the inspection company by a government investigation team related to under-invoicing against import of luxury vehicles.
In early September, the NBR served a showcause notice upon Cotecna seeking explanation of its alleged involvement in certifying under-invoiced value of imported luxurious cars.
Sources said the board has the authority to cancel the licence or impose penalty on any PSI company if irregularities are detected.
In an investigation, the board has found duty evasion worth Tk 2.3 million against import of the expensive cars.
The board has found wrong price certification in the clean report of findings (CRF). The PSI company has quoted US$ 18,500 instead of $35,215 as original price of the Hummer 3 vehicle.
Sources said the NBR will soon call the representatives of the PSI Company for hearing. If the PSI company fails to come up with satisfactory explanation, the NBR will slap heavy penalty for the irregularities committed.
The board might cancel the agreement with the company after expiry of its agreement in 2008, sources further said.
In August, a high-profile NBR delegation has visited China to scrutinise the working procedure of the PSI Company.
The delegation put some recommendations on operational and certification procedures of exports to Bangladesh.
The delegation suggested the PSI Company to follow those recommendations on routine basis.
The NBR team also expressed its optimism that the performance of the PSI Company recently improved significantly. But, it was not up to the mark last year as the PSI Company had issued some wrong certificates and incorrect test reports.