Customs Authorities have taken multifaceted measures to prevent revenue evasion at Benapole Customs House in Jashore, the country's largest revenue collector on land.
Initiatives including Benapole Port and Rail Imports, Trade Facilitation, Digital Automation, Prevention of Smuggling and Customs Enforcement are taken in case of auction of products not delivered on time or that has lost its usability or in case of destruction of harmful chemical products.
The Customs House has taken a strong stand against unscrupulous importers and C&F agents to curb false declarations, counterfeiting and tax evasion. In the first 11 months of the current financial year, 19 C&F agent’s licenses have been suspended and 3 have been canceled.
According to customs sources, the revenue collection target of Benapole Customs House for the fiscal year 2020-21 has been set at Tk 5,798.94 crore.
In the last 2019-2020 financial year, the revenue collection till the month of May was 2431.83 crore. In the same period of 2020-2021, revenue collection was Tk. 3658.91 crore.
In other words, more revenue of Tk 1275.46 crore has been collected compared to last year, which is 52.01% more. Customs officials said that imports of high-duty goods have declined over the past year and a half due to the corona pandemic. This has been possible due to the business-friendly policies of the government and the National Board of Revenue (NBR) as well as the dynamic leadership of the Commissioner of Customs Houses in the midst of the global epidemic.
After Benapole Customs Commissioner Azizur Rahman took charge, various internal initiatives of the Custom House, In addition to collecting tariffs through action plans, there has been great success in the rapid auction of goods laying in the port year after year, the auction of rotten-unusable goods and the destruction of hazardous chemical products.
Additional Commissioner of Customs House Dr Neyamul Islam has launched a new software called “Becom” to prevent revenue evasion and restore transparency in customs assessment.
This is the first time after 50 years of independence that Bonapole Customs House has been upgraded to the only digital custom house. Gate Division, Exit Note has been introduced.
Due to non-cooperation of the port authorities, the implementation of these new activities is being hampered.
To increase the capacity of Benapole port, Customs House is urging traders to release imported goods quickly to avoid truck congestion. The Imported goods must be delivered within 30 days or within the extra time allowed by customs commissioner. Otherwise the product will be auctioned or disposed of in a lawful manner.
The Commissioner of Custom House Md. Ajizur Rahman has requested the concerned to expedite the unloading of all imported and unloaded goods through Benapole Customs House.
Commissioner Azizur Rahman said the Benapole Customs House Authority is committed to providing overall support to legitimate imports and honest taxpayers with a view to creating a business and investment-friendly environment.