Customs authorities in Bangladesh have unearthed duty evasion by more than 44 apparel exporters from the port city of Chittagong, amounting to Taka 3,184 crore.
Reports claimed this adding the Customs Bond Commissionerate has found such information while auditing the garment factories for fiscal 2021-22 from 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022 and has issued notices to the concerned entities to recover the evaded duty.
Tax evasion also came up in the audits from 2010 to 2020, in some companies, reportedly, shared sources in the bond commissionerate with the media.
Meanwhile, speaking to the media, Commissioner of the Customs Bond Commissionerate, Chittagong, Mahbubur Rahman, reportedly, informed the companies concerned have been served show cause notices even if some have already responded while several others sought time extension.
It may be mentioned here Bangladesh Government provides duty-free facilities for import of raw materials to encourage the export-oriented garment industry and this facility is known as the bond facility even if the existing rules mandate imported raw materials should be made into apparel items and exported, but some garment companies allegedly import raw materials using the bond facility and sell them in the local market.