Customs intelligence fears rise in false declarations

The Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate (CIID) warned of an increase in false declarations due to an order of the National Board of Revenue on the assessment of duty of imported packaged goods like cosmetics and perfumes.

The NBR at the end of last year directed field offices of customs to calculate the duty of imported items by adding the duty for the containers if the cost of the packing materials, for example bottles or containers, is not included in the import prices.

For ease of valuation, the revenue collector said duty could be calculated by determining the prices of the packaging materials based on weight per kilogramme.

The CIID said customs stations were assessing duties differently from one another as the directive has created ambiguity in the field offices.

As a result of the order, various interpretations and practices in duty assessment of products has emerged among customs offices, said the CIID in a letter to the NBR chairman earlier this week.

The letter, signed by way of CIID Director General Moinul Khan, said responsibilities had been calculated via taking the gross weight of imported goods as internet weight.

On the different hand, some officers are deciding customs duties with the aid of including fees of packing materials one at a time to the price of the items assessed based totally on internet weight, it added.

“This discrepancy is no longer regular with the global satisfactory practices,” stated the CIID, urging the NBR to suspend the order immediately.

It advised that the authority maintain a session with the participation of former top officers of the NBR and stakeholders to take a choice in this regard.

The findings got here amid worries amongst importers and commercial enterprise that the surprising go by means of the customs authority would enlarge the obligation of purchaser goods imported in packaged structure and hence lead to a spiral in fees of the commodities in the domestic market.

The NBR stated it took the step in line with the international fantastic practices of calculating the obligation of the packaging materials, the cost of which is no longer covered in the import costs of the goods.

The measure was once also intended to defend domestic producers from uneven opposition and responsibility evasion as some traders import the goods via mentioning only the internet weight of the product, in accordance to Lutfor Rahman, a member for customs policy of the NBR.

The CIID said the order has raised worries over a upward jab in false assertion of imports. And a response has already been witnessed amongst businessmen, it added.

The CIID stated one of the fundamental objectives of the customs administration was to keep a business-friendly environment via making sure uniform practices. But the order may additionally hamper that, it said.

This can also additionally lead to a spiral in expenses of items and have an effect on consumers, according to the CIID