Chittagong Customs House has recently made a proposal to the National Board of Revenue to form a customs marine unit for intensifying monitoring activities to prevent smuggling and offences related to export-import on the international water boundary of the country, customs officials told New Age. They said incidents of smuggling and leakage of products had increased significantly against the backdrop of massive expansion of international trade of Bangladesh.
‘Customs officials are facing challenges to prevent smuggling and offences related to tax evasion in international trade through waterways as they are not properly equipped,’ a senior customs official said.
It is important to increase capacity of customs officers and prepare them with modern equipment in this connection, he said.
In a recent letter to the NBR, Chittagong Customs House commissioner Masud Sadik proposed that a customs marine unit consisting of 20 officers for CCH should be formed saying that most of the export and import activities were conducted through the Chittagong Sea Port.
In many developed and developing countries customs marine units are operating successfully, the letter mentioned.
Customs marine unit will also be needed in future after construction of the proposed deep sea port at Sonadia or any other place, it said.
CCH officials said most of the import products were carried in big ships and those were unloaded at deep sea
and outer anchorage and then brought to the port in small vessels.
In course of such transshipment, there is a possibility of smuggling or duty evasion which the customs officials cannot always monitor due to lack of logistic support, they said.
Currently, CCH has two patrol boats for conducting monitoring activities but the boats are not well equipped to go to sea.
The CCH has already identified the location beside Ready Response Berth of Bangladesh Navy at Patenga for setting up the control tower for customs marine unit.
Officers of the proposed unit can be trained up with the help of Bangladesh Navy and Coast Guard, the proposal stated.
Masud Sadik said that they would send a concept paper if the revenue board agreed with the proposal.
A high official of the revenue board said that they would examine the proposal and then decide if such unit could be formed.
-With New Age input
