Customs intelligence officials have halted five suspicious export consignments of Valmont Fashions Ltd involving goods worth around Tk 54.3 million after finding that the declared products were not physically present at the designated inland container depot (ICD).
The five consignments, declared to contain 121,175 kilogrammes of goods worth US$438,304, were identified in the ASYCUDA World system during a verification on September 3.
Officials became suspicious after detecting anomalies in the declared destinations, nature of the goods and total weight of the consignments.
According to the Bills of Export, the consignments were to be exported through Isak Brothers Industries Ltd, an inland container depot. However, customs intelligence officials found that none of the declared goods had entered the depot.
The depot authorities and the concerned clearing and forwarding (C&F) agent also failed to produce the goods for examination, officials said.
More significantly, the goods had reportedly not entered the depot despite completion of customs formalities for the consignments.
The Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate (CIID) is investigating how the formalities were completed without the goods physically entering the depot and who were involved in the process.
The consignments, destined for the United Arab Emirates and the Philippines, had a combined declared export value of US$438,304, equivalent to Tk 54,299,992.33.
Officials also found discrepancies between the bonded factory’s imported raw materials over the past year and the quantity of goods declared for export.
A preliminary analysis showed that the declared export volume was inconsistent with the normal input-output coefficient applicable to the production process.
The customs intelligence authorities suspect an attempt was made to show exports without the physical existence of the goods.
Under normal export procedures, goods are brought to the designated ICD before customs formalities are completed and the goods are exported.
The authorities are examining the roles of Valmont Fashions, the C&F agent, depot officials and any other individuals or entities who may have been involved.
The CIID said action would be taken under the applicable customs and other laws against those found responsible based on evidence gathered during the investigation.
