The customs authority has fixed the assessment values of fresh dates at import stage after it has found that the businesses concerned are showing nominal import costs while making windfall profits by fixing exorbitant prices at consumer level.
Officials said the importers of dates are evading taxes by showing low prices, as the customs authority imposes duty on the values that the importers show at import stage.
Cost and freight (CFR) value of per kg dates under three categories -general, medium and premium - has been set at US$1, $2.0 and $4.0 respectively at import stage, according to the recent report of a customs committee.
CFR value of cashew nut has also been set at $3.0 for in shell and $3.5 for shelled.
Md Bodruzzaman Munshi, deputy commissioner of the Chittagong Customs House (CCH), said the CFR values have been set, after the customs wing has found that dates are imported by showing nominal CFR value but are sold at high prices to consumers.
"We smelt duty evasion by showing low CFR values of dates," he added.
The CCH has fixed the CFR values of these two items on the basis of investigation to review the prices that the consumers are paying.
The customs wing has scrutinised CRF values of seven types of fresh dates, including premium quality fresh dates Medjool, Ajwa and Marium, medium quality Aljeria and Irani Marium, and general quality Jahedi and Nagal fresh dates.
The CCH has found the CFR value of high quality dates ranges from $2.534 to $5.0 per kg on the basis of its brand. Branded premium quality dates are selling at Tk 800 to Tk 1,300 per kg at consumer end.
Local market prices for medium quality dates range from Tk 400 per kg to Tk 420 per kg, while its CFR value is around $2.0 per kg.
General quality dates are selling at Tk 180 per kg to Tk 280 per kg against their CFR value of $0.915 to $1.414 per kg.
On the basis of three samples of premium quality dates, the customs authority has detected three CFR values - $5.0, $4.056 and $2.534.
It has found that the average CFR value of premium quality dates is $3.863, irrespective of country of import.
Cartooned dates - imported from Iraq, Algeria, Iran, UAE, and Tunisia - cost $2.067 per kg on an average, while bulk dates from Iraq cost $1.165 per kg.
A team of the CCH fixed the assessment value as per the Customs Valuation (price fixation of import goods) Rules 2000, Rule 7 by catagorising the imported fresh dates in three segments.
No category or brand and grade or quality was specified in the customs rules for import of fresh dates, although imported dates are selling in local market at different prices on the basis of their quality and brands.
The CCH deputy commissioner said 'deductive value method' would be applicable in case of valuation of fresh dates due to not having any provision in the customs rules.
The customs team has verified market prices to ensure justice to traders and consumers. They have collected market prices of seven types of fresh imported dates.
President of Bangladesh Fresh Fruits Importers Association Md Sirajul Islam said the latest decision of customs might lead to over-invoicing by a vested quarter to siphon off money to other countries.
"The government should sit with the businesses before taking such decision to assess its impact on the market."
The importers have to count many other costs, such as transportation, cold storage, labour, extortion on road, etc.
He also said above 90 per cent of the consumers buy general category dates, ranging from Tk 160 a kg to Tk 180 a kg.
Earlier, mobile court of local administration in Chattogram launched a crackdown and found a total of 40,024 tonnes of dates with an average price of Tk 89.36 per kg were imported in Bangladesh, while their prices were above Tk 250 per kg to Tk 1,300 per kg at consumer level on the basis of variety.
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