Khulna, Feb 16 (V7N)- The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has fixed the duty collection truck wheel slabs on various fruits, fish, tomatoes, betel leaves and other products imported from India, which has reduced the import volume of these products in Benapole. As a result, the government is losing crores of taka in revenue.

In the case of importing these products including fruits, the duty is levied on 18 tons of Indian 6-wheeled trucks, 20 tons on 10-wheeled trucks, 22 tons on 12-wheeled trucks, 25 tons on 14-wheeled trucks, and 26 tons on 16-wheeled trucks, which has been determined by the NBR through a notification (SRO). There is no guidance for imports below this.

According to relevant sources, before the announcement of the truck wheel slab, about 150 trucks of fruits, fish, tomatoes, rice, betel leaves, etc. were imported daily through the country's largest land port of Benapole. At that time, the government's revenue income was 25 to 30 crore taka. And after the slab announcement, 20 to 25 trucks of such products are being imported. Here, the government's revenue income is 5 to 7 crore taka. Earlier, 100 to 150 trucks of these products were imported. As a result, the government is collecting less revenue of 20 to 22 crore taka every day.

According to relevant sources, in the wake of the NBR's announcement of the wheel slab on October 27, 2016, Chapainawabganj importer Mejbahuddin Khan filed a writ petition in the High Court on March 9, 2017. Then on March 16, 2022, the High Court declared the NBR's wheel slab directive illegal.

The order said that the NBR's declaration in its document 5 (4), Customs Value Miscellaneous Matters/2012/57(15), dated 27.10.2016 is completely illegal. In addition, the additional money received from the importers due to the excess wheels was ordered to be returned.

After this incident, the National Board of Revenue suddenly announced again on June 23, 2024, reinstating the truck wheel slab for the import of various fruits, fish, tomatoes, rice, betel leaves, etc. After this instruction, the importer Imdadul Haque of Famous Traders of Benapole filed a writ petition in the court. The verdict is awaited, according to those concerned.

The owner of fruit importer Aleya Enterprise, Md. Tarek Hossain, said that as a result of the NBR's new determination of the wheel slab, additional tax has to be paid on each truck. And we are constantly facing financial losses.

Benapole Importer-Exporter Association General Secretary Md.  Ziaur Rahman said that due to the NBR-imposed wheel slabs on trucks, importers are having to pay additional duty. Due to this, importers are facing huge financial losses every day. Importers are being discouraged from importing fruits.

In this regard, Benapole Customs Commissioner Kamruzzaman said, the main objective of re-introducing the wheel slab system is to prevent duty evasion, ensure proper duty payment by importers and maintain economic stability by increasing national revenue. We are committed to bringing discipline to customs management and preventing the trend of illegal or low duty clearance of goods.

END/SDA/AJ