The greed factor
Tuesday, 12 August 2008
The Chittagong Customs has claimed to have got definite proof of irregularities committed by a leading business house of the country in the import of more than 400 metric tonnes of powdered milk. The bags containing the milk in question, allegedly, are carrying neither the production nor the expiry date of the milk as required under the relevant law. The name of the importer along with address and tax identification number (TIN) have not been imprinted on the bags. On-the-spot verification by the Customs officials in presence of the officials of the pre-shipment inspection (PSI) and the C&F agents concerned and the members of the army-led joint forces last Sunday revealed all these irregularities. The investigators detected signs of deliberate attempt to erase the production and expiry dates from the bags containing the powdered milk.
The Customs, quite rightly, has not declared the powdered milk in question unfit for human consumption. It has collected milk samples from the containers which would be sent to the appropriate agency for radiation test. Only after getting the test results, a decision would be taken on the fate of the milk. The importer is question has been marketing milk in condensed as well as powdered forms. There is every reason to believe that the milk imported by the company in question had gone beyond the expiry date at the time of shipment. Otherwise, the dates of production and the name of the importer would have been duly imprinted on the bags. The incident has again brought to the fore the unscrupulous practices on the part of a section of businesses who give a damn to the physical safety of the consumers. What is more surprising is that the importer in question, not long ago, was accused of hoarding wheat unfit for human consumption. Soon after the takeover of the present caretaker administration, the joint forces had raided one of the big storehouses of this business group in Chittagong and seized a large quantity of rotten wheat from there.
Notwithstanding the outcome of the radiation test of the powdered milk, the Customs has decided to serve show-cause notice on the importer, PSI and C&F agents for violating relevant laws and take penal actions. The incident, however, highlights the fact that actions against some of unscrupulous businesses have failed to deter them from indulging in the similar criminal activities. This greedy section of traders and businessmen is actually ready to go to any extent for the sake of earning undue profit. All the preaching made by the trade bodies to carry out business honestly and give the interests and safety of the consumers the top-most priority has fallen on deaf ears. Some importers are still bringing in contaminated or date-expired goods and producers marketing adulterated or substandard items. Actions by the mobile courts are too few to contain the fraudulent practices being carried out in a massive-scale. It is high time for the authorities to ensure most stringent actions against this section of businesses since they do not deserve any leniency. And if the government goes hard on the unscrupulous section of importers, producers and traders, there would not be any dearth of popular support.
The Customs, quite rightly, has not declared the powdered milk in question unfit for human consumption. It has collected milk samples from the containers which would be sent to the appropriate agency for radiation test. Only after getting the test results, a decision would be taken on the fate of the milk. The importer is question has been marketing milk in condensed as well as powdered forms. There is every reason to believe that the milk imported by the company in question had gone beyond the expiry date at the time of shipment. Otherwise, the dates of production and the name of the importer would have been duly imprinted on the bags. The incident has again brought to the fore the unscrupulous practices on the part of a section of businesses who give a damn to the physical safety of the consumers. What is more surprising is that the importer in question, not long ago, was accused of hoarding wheat unfit for human consumption. Soon after the takeover of the present caretaker administration, the joint forces had raided one of the big storehouses of this business group in Chittagong and seized a large quantity of rotten wheat from there.
Notwithstanding the outcome of the radiation test of the powdered milk, the Customs has decided to serve show-cause notice on the importer, PSI and C&F agents for violating relevant laws and take penal actions. The incident, however, highlights the fact that actions against some of unscrupulous businesses have failed to deter them from indulging in the similar criminal activities. This greedy section of traders and businessmen is actually ready to go to any extent for the sake of earning undue profit. All the preaching made by the trade bodies to carry out business honestly and give the interests and safety of the consumers the top-most priority has fallen on deaf ears. Some importers are still bringing in contaminated or date-expired goods and producers marketing adulterated or substandard items. Actions by the mobile courts are too few to contain the fraudulent practices being carried out in a massive-scale. It is high time for the authorities to ensure most stringent actions against this section of businesses since they do not deserve any leniency. And if the government goes hard on the unscrupulous section of importers, producers and traders, there would not be any dearth of popular support.