Clear consignments in a day, customs officials directed
Currently, it takes anywhere from five to ten days, or even longer, to clear certain imported consignments
National Board of Revenue (NBR) Chairman Abdur Rahman Khan has instructed customs officials at all customs houses to complete the clearance of imported consignments within one day.
The directive came during a revenue meeting held at the NBR headquarters in Agargaon, Dhaka, yesterday (24 July), according to an NBR press release.
Currently, it takes anywhere from five to ten days, or even longer, to clear certain imported consignments.
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"Stressing the importance of trade facilitation, the honourable chairman instructed officials to release goods within a day and, if necessary, conduct a post-clearance audit (PCA)," the press release said.
"For consignments delayed in clearance, specific reasons for the delay must be reported along with details of any additional revenue collected in such cases. These reports are to be sent regularly to the NBR," it added.
Similarly, the NBR chairman directed officials to submit reports explaining delays in bond licence approvals and audits of bond licence holders, along with reasons and regular updates.
He also instructed that cases where importers' and exporters' business identification numbers (BIN) are locked should be reported with reasons and details of recovered evaded taxes.
During the meeting, the performance of customs houses and VAT commissionerates in achieving revenue targets for the outgoing fiscal year was reviewed. Offices that failed to meet targets were asked to provide explanations.
The chairman also instructed NBR members to strengthen monitoring of field-level activities.
Addressing concerns about the ASYCUDA World system used for import and export processes, the chairman noted widespread complaints from users about the software's performance.
He expressed concern over the lack of confidence among businesses in the system, stating that it fails to deliver the expected quality of service.
To address this, he informed participants that initiatives have been taken to introduce an alternative software system modelled on those used in developed countries.
