Setting minimum value and tariff value by a regulatory order on import of some 200 commercial products helped the government earn an additional Tk 12 billion in customs duty in the first two months of the current fiscal year.
The government made a provision of tariff value and minimum value of commercially imported products in the current budget for resolving valuation-related complexities that used to cause revenue leaks.
From recently compiled data obtained from all customs houses across the country, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) found the customs wing having collected Tk 11.91 billion worth of higher customs duty in the July-August period of the fiscal year 2016-17 compared to that of the previous FY.
Another customs measure provided for in the current budget to check abuse the import of industrial raw materials also helped mobilise another additional sum of Tk 1.64 billion in revenue in the two months compared to the previous corresponding period.
The collection data were revealed in a recent revenue-monitoring meeting at the NBR.
Revenue-collection performance under the major customs houses, including in Chittagong, Mongla, Benapole, Kamalapur Inland container depot, Pangaon, Dhaka, Khulna and Sylhet, was reviewed at the meeting.
For FY 2016-17, the NBR has set a target for its customs wing to collect Tk 556.70 billion in revenue.
The customs department has surpassed its target of collection for the July-August period with an additional sum of Tk 601 million. Customs sources attribute the revenue rise to the new fiscal measures for the current FY.
Of the customs houses, Chittagong customs in the port city collected the highest amount of Tk 53.21 billion, surpassing its target.
The largest land-customs station at Benapole also crossed its target by pulling an aggregate amount of Tk 5.92 billion from duties levied on imports.
Talking to the FE, a senior customs official said the minimum value for import products has been fixed to ensure uniform valuation of imports in all customs houses.
"Absence of minimum value earlier created complexities. It was found that importers used to prefer those customs station as entry point of their products which assess import products at a lower value," he said.
The importers avoid the customs stations where officials assess the import products at comparatively higher value, he added.
"Such complexities would not arise from the current fiscal as the customs wing has fixed the minimum value and tariff value of the imports," he said.
All of the customs houses will have to determine valuation on the basis of minimum value that has been fixed by NBR through Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO), he added.
Minimum value applies to toys, wristwatch, cable, playing cards, motorcycle parts, SIM cards, electrical capacitors, loudspeakers, microwave woven, electric iron, shaver appliances, dry-cell batteries, split system air conditioning machine, razors, tableware, sanitary ware, floor tiles, shirt, bicycle, adhesive, potato chips, wafers, biscuits and natural honey.
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