NBR snubs traders' complaints of harassment

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) chairman has tried to downplay some of the harassment and irregularities faced by businesses at the field-level Customs houses.

When representatives of various trade organisations raised these issues in a pre-budget discussion with the NBR at its office in the capital's Agargaon on Sunday, NBR Chairman Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Muneem showed no interest in hearing them.

Instead, the NBR chief stopped a complainant in the middle of a speech and said, "I am sitting here today to discuss the issues linked to budget-related policies. These complaints will be discussed in another forum."

In the meeting, Amirul Islam, the vice-president of the Bangladesh Agro Feed Ingredients Importers and Traders Association, raised the issue of harassment with the HS code of imported goods or raw materials. 

He said, "Sometimes we see that the HS codes, which are approved in the NBR's Statutory Regulatory Orders (SRO), are not being followed by the Chattogram Port [Customs]. We face harassment when they try to assess the products under different codes [which will cost us additional taxes]."

Harmonised System (HS) code is a standardised numerical method of classifying traded products. It is used by customs authorities around the world to identify products.

Calling for the NBR-approved HS code to be followed in all Custom houses, Amirul Islam said, "Otherwise, we are being harassed. Landing tax and shipping charges are increasing."

Mentioning that Customs officials often levy more duty than the actual value of the imported goods, he said, "I think these are nothing but revenue-generating tricks."

At this point in Aminul's speech, the NBR chairman stopped him and said, "We will discuss these complaints in another forum. We have a system in place for submitting written complaints."

"You [traders] only talk about harassment. Have you noticed the things you are doing? Have you submitted your documents correctly? Have you followed the HS code properly?" Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Mueem said.

Masud Sadiq, an NBR member, also gave a speech in a tone similar to the NBR chairman.

He said, "We have thousands of proofs [of irregularities in HS Code done by importers]. You raise the irregularity allegation when things do not go your way."

Representatives of 16 organisations including the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies, Bangladesh Restaurant Owners' Association, and Feed Industries Association participated in the discussion.