PRODUCT CODE TAMPERING
EPB suspends facilities for 7 garment factories
The Export Promotion Bureau has suspended its all kind of services enjoyed by seven garment factories on charges of forgery of certificate of generalised system of preferences facilities.
According to the office order of the EPB issued on June 26, Starlight Sweaters Ltd, Pandora Sweaters Ltd, Jointex Knit wears Ltd, SF Sweaters Ltd, Mars Stitch Ltd, Tasmia Apparels Ltd and MK Fashions Ltd tampered harmonised system codes of GSP certificate.
EPB sources said the importers of EU countries including Germany and Belgium had taken duty facilities using the fake GSP certificates and the seven garment factories had helped them to do it.
Factory authorities, however, said this was not a forgery but an error which occurred due to lack of concentration of the officers of the factories and officials of local buying houses.
EPB vice-chairman Shubhashish Bose told New Age that after seeing the irregularities they suspended all services for those companies.
To get export facilities the companies will have to give a certain amount in penalty for the misdeed, he said.
Shubhashish said, ‘If they make such kind of wrong repeatedly, they have to face tough action.’
Abul Kalam Azad, senior general manager (commercial) of Starlight Sweaters Ltd, said they were not involved in such kind of misdeed, rather the local buying house officials made the mistake.
‘The suspension against us has already withdrawn as the company have paid Tk 5,000 as penalty,’ he said.
Another official of Starlight Sweaters Ltd said they had sent a letter to the India-based buying house Ananda Fashions through e-mail seeking explanation why their local office had tampered the HS code of the product on the GSP certificate.
Aziz Ahmed Bhuiyan, managing director of MARS Stitch Ltd, said no forgery had been occurred but it was a misunderstanding between the EPB and the commercial officers of the company.
To check corruption through tampering GSP certificate, the high officials of the European Anti-Fraud Office visit Bangladesh twice a year with huge number of suspected documents.
As per the source, from 2005-2009 the OLAF team suspected 2,861 documents for GSP forgery.
Through the forgery importers of EU allegedly evaded Tk 78 crore in import duty.
In 2010-2011 the OLAF team came in Bangladesh with 520 suspected documents and also came 2012 with 68 documents.
To resist the GSP certificate forgery, the EPB also formed a six-member anti fraud committee comprising with the officials of the commerce ministry, National Board of Revenue and Customs.
-With New Age input
