CHITTAGONG, Jan 26: State Minister for Finance MA Mannan has instructed the Customs authority to be more liberal and to work as facilitator instead of harassing the clients.
He said in this modern world the government officials are left with no option but to become more liberal and avoid complexities to ensure a pro-people and dynamic administration for the welfare and development of the country.
"The officials and employees should rather take the initiative in this regard," he said.
The State Minister was addressing as chief guest at a function organized by the Chittagong Custom House on the occasion of Customs Day at the CCH auditorium in the port city on Sunday morning.
Presided over by Chittagong Customs Commissioner Masud Sadiq, the function was addressed by Member of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) Farid Uddin and president of Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry Mahbubul Alam as special guests.
This is an age of modernization that has touched every nook and corner of the society. So the Customs officials and employees should be dynamic and liberal in rendering services for the growth of the national economy. They should create a people-friendly environment in the office, he observed.
The government itself is not doing business but it works as a facilitator to those who are doing business by upholding the principles and policies of the government, he stated.
"It is very unfortunate that trade facilities provided to the businesses in Bangladesh could not stand at par with other countries as was expected. I would rather blame the businesses and stakeholders who did not uphold their demands as strongly as it was expected," said NBR Member Farid Uddin.
CCCI president Mahbubul Alam said the activities in Chittagong Custom House and Chittagong Port have been geared up now with the automation of cargo handling.
Formerly there were 42 steps in getting goods out of the port, which now stand at 13. This is a good progress as the pace of work has been expedited by the introduction of the automation system.
Director of Customs, Excise and VAT (value added tax) Training Academy Anwar Hossain presented a paper on the Customs Day.
The function was also addressed by Customs (Bond) Commissioner Dr Abdul Mannan Sikder, VAT and Excise Commissioner (appeal) Syed Golam Kibria and Member Ramesh Chandra Basak.
Customs officials should be more liberal and user-friendly: State Minister for Finance
Our Correspondent | Published: January 27, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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