Under-invoicing in fish import to be probed

Rezaul Karim | Published: May 22, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00

Import of sea fish is now under scanner of the government as it has received allegations of rampant under-invoicing, officials said.
Â "The government has decided to scrutinise the import of sea fish for detecting under-invoicing," a senior official of the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) told the FE Tuesday.
"We have started working on it to detect the malpractice as demanded by several concerned associations. The ministry will send letters to all relevant authorities seeking to know about facts in this regard before taking the next step," he said.
Under the move, the MoC would ask the National Board of Revenue (NBR) and the Bangladesh Bank (BB) to look into the allegations, he added.
The decision came in a recent meeting of the MoC with the Bangladesh Marine Fisheries Association (BMFA).
A technical committee will be formed with representatives of the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI), the Fisheries department, the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission and one or two relevant authorities to look into the demands of the BMFA. The committee would submit a set of recommendations, sources said.Â Â Â Â Â
The MoC decided to ensure implementation of the existing import policy in import of sea fish, meeting sources said.Â Â
Foreign fish has long been imported in the country after payment of more than 60 per cent import duty. Prices of imported fish are paid always through Hundi.
So, a BMFA official said import of all kinds of foreign fish should be banned immediately in the greater interest of the country.
Now-a-days, poisonous sea fish is also being imported from the Middle East countries including Oman and also from neighbouring countries of Bangladesh rampantly. Therefore, the fish needed to be examined for arsenic, mercury and other poisonous ingredients, sources said.
Disagreeing with the BMFA, a leader of the Bangladesh Frozen Foods Exporters Association (BFFEA) said it would not be wise to ban import of fish from other countries.
Â "Our export will be affected, if import of fish is banned. Besides, if import is stopped, the country will face a severe fish shortage in the local markets. Finally, prices will go up," he said.