Chattogram Bureau :
Chattogram Customs House witnessed a 4 per cent revenue growth year-on-year in 2023 despite nearly 6 per cent fall in imports through the country’s largest Chattogram Port.
Businessmen say the rise in import cost due to devaluation of the local currency taka and an increase in assessment value by the customs mainly contributed to the surge in revenues.
The customs authorities say collection of import duty rose in the just-concluded calendar year thanks to its various initiatives for curbing smuggling, fraudulence and tax evasion.
Lutfor Rahman, former member of the National Board of Revenue (NBR), told the media, “It is hard to open letters of credit (LCs) for the prevailing dollar crisis, which has actually caused the fall in imports.”
While explaining the rise in revenues, he said the currency devaluation against the greenback and curbing false declarations has played a vital role in raising the revenues.
According to Customs House data, the total volume of imports through Chattogram Port was 10.70 crore tonnes in 2023, which was 5.80 per cent lower than that of 2022.
The total value of those imported goods was Tk1,72,000 crore, a 3 per cent decline from that of the calendar year 2022.
Chattogram customs earned Tk64,616 crore in revenues in 2023 from export and import duty, a 4 per cent percent rise year-on-year.
The Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry Director Mahfuzul Haque Shah told this correspondent, “Import and export volumes were low in 2023 because of the dollar crisis.
Price of dollars increased and the importers had to pay more. As a result, imports decreased, but there was no major disruption in revenues.”
