Unpaid duties: Ctg Customs demands Tk 246cr from S Alam

The Chattogram Customs Bond Commissionerate has sought Tk 246.26 crore in unpaid duties from the S Alam Refined Sugar Industry against the import of 60,500 tonnes of sugar.
The S Alam Group concern had released the raw sugar under bond (home consumption) facility without paying any customs duty on the condition that the customs duty will be paid when the goods are shifted from the company’s bonded warehouse, The Daily Star has learnt from customs bond officials.
According to the law, oil and sugar refining companies have been permitted to release their imported raw materials without incurring import duty under the bond facility since January 2019.
However, in February, S Alam Refined Sugar Industry began selling the commodity in the local market without paying the duty.
“As per the law, no good can be marketed without paying customs duty — the company sold 60,500 tonnes of sugar but did not pay any duty,” Md Mizanur Rahman, joint commissioner of Customs Bond Commissionerate, Chattogram told The Daily Star.
Subsequently, on August 22, Bond Commissioner Mohammad Lutfor Rahman issued a show-cause letter demanding Tk 246.26 crore in revenue.
The Bond Commissionerate will initiate legal proceedings to recover the dodged revenue if the company fails to provide a satisfactory response or pays the duty within 15 days.
Meanwhile, the revenue authority is planning to review all import and sales data from 2019 to determine if the company has engaged in any additional irregularities related to the import of products utilising the bond facility, said a top official of the National Board of Revenue.
On August 20, the Chattogram Customs, Excise and VAT Commissionerate, another wing of the NBR, formed four audit teams to investigate the business operations and transactions of 18 companies within the S Alam Group.
The teams have been directed to review all types of financial transactions and purchase-sale records of the last five years starting from 2019.
A detailed report will be prepared and submitted by the teams within the next 30 days, with the assistance of 20 customs officials.
Subrata Kumar Bhowmick, executive director of S Alam Group, and Mohammad Akhter Hossain, general manager (corporate), could not be reached for comment.