After failed auctions, NBR to hand over 30 duty-free cars of ex-MPs to govt
These cars will be added to the public administration’s transport pool for official use, says NBR Chairman Abdur Rahman Khan.
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has decided to transfer 30 luxury vehicles, imported duty-free by former ministers and members of parliament, to the government after two failed attempts to sell them at auction.
NBR Chairman Abdur Rahman Khan announced the decision yesterday (20 September) after a workshop at the Chittagong Port auditorium. "We will ultimately hand these cars over to the government. They will be added to the public administration's transport pool for official use," he told reporters.
The cars were imported under a tax-free privilege by lawmakers of the dissolved 12th parliament, most of them from the Awami League, after the 7 January 2024 election.
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Following the student-led July Uprising that toppled the government on 5 August, the parliament was dissolved on 6 August, and the NBR revoked the duty waiver. Many former MPs fled the country without clearing their vehicles from the port.
Of 42 cars brought in, Chattogram Customs put 24 up for auction in February.
Bids ranged from Tk1 lakh to Tk3.1 crore – far below market prices and the government's reserve value of Tk9.67 crore per car. The minimum winning bid had been set at 60% of the reserve price, or about Tk5.8 crore, with a 25% tax pushing the final floor price to Tk7.25 crore. Customs had hoped to raise Tk175 crore in revenue.
"We saw that auction prices were far too low. Selling them cheaply would force the government to spend heavily to buy similar cars again," Abdur Rahman said. "In the national interest, we decided to add them directly to the government transport pool."
Among those who imported vehicles were former state minister for information Mohammad Ali Arafat, ex-MPs Md Saiful Islam, Sanjida Khanam, Muhammad Shahjahan Omar, Saurendra Nath Chakrabhartty, Anupam Shahjahan Joy, Sajjadul Hasan, Md Saddam Hossain Pavel, Tarana Halim, Naser Shahriar Zahedi, Md Abul Kalam Azad and several others.
The duty-free import privilege for MPs was introduced in 1988 under the Ershad regime and has remained in force since. Under existing rules, each lawmaker can import one car during a five-year term. After the January 2024 election, 51 MPs opened letters of credit to bring in new vehicles, though only six were cleared before the government fell.
Unreleased cars become eligible for auction if not cleared within 30 days of arrival at the port. Chittagong Port also charges storage fees after a four-day grace period.
