Powder milk disguised as electric motors to evade tariffs

Padma Safety Products has imported 13.53 tonnes of Nido milk powder from Dubai with a false claim of 20 tonnes of electric motor purchases to evade Tk55 lakh in tariffs, Chattogram customs officials have alleged.

Chattogram Custom House officials seized the consignment before they were cleared for delivery from the seaport and is preparing legal measures against the alleged tariff evaders.

BS Cargo Agency, the shipping agent working for Padma Safety Products, brought the products through sea routes on 13 March, said Saiful Haque, deputy commissioner of Chattogram Custom House's Audit Investigation and Research unit.

The importing company did not submit the bill of entry fifteen days after due date, Saiful claimed. Furthermore, customs authorities blocked the bill of lading after detecting a mismatch between the import destination Dubai and the type of consignment, the customs official added. Electric motor is the imported item mentioned by Padma Safety Products but Dubai is a highly unlikely exporter of this product.

Customs officials forced an inspection of the container holding the products on Tuesday at the Chattogram port's New Mooring Container Terminal and found milk powder instead of electronic parts. The tariff rate on electric motors is 26.20% whereas that for milk powder is 89.32%.