Import-export trades halt due to NBR officials’ shut down programme

All official activities at the National Board of Revenue (NBR) have come to a standstill due to a complete shutdown enforced by the board’s officials and employees. It hardly hit import-export trades as all sorts of customs clearance operations have been suspended.

The NBR Reform Unity Council has been enforcing the complete shutdown programme since 6:00 am on Saturday. In the aftermath, revenue-related activities at the NBR headquarters in Dhaka, the Chattogram seaport, land ports including Benapole and Sonamasjid, and customs houses across the country have come to a halt.

On Saturday, the first day of the shutdown programme, nobody was allowed to enter the NBR headquarters in Dhaka, and those inside were not permitted to leave until the office closed, effectively suspending all services of the revenue board. At the same time, import-export activities at the Chittagong Port came to a halt, according to reports from our correspondents.

On the day, NBR officials and employees held a protest march – March to NBR – for reforms in the revenue sector and removing the NBR chairman. At the same time, all customs and tax offices across the country have gone into a complete shutdown programme.

In Chattogram, since the shutdown began, officials and employees have refrained from engaging in customs clearance for import-export goods.

However, container loading and unloading activities from some ships remained uninterrupted as they had received prior clearance. But newly arrived ships without prior documentation cannot be berthed at the jetty. If the shutdown continues, the entire port is likely to come to a standstill.

Azmir Hossain Chowdhury, head of operations and logistics of the Switzerland-based Mediterranean Shipping Company, told Prothom Alo that while container handling is ongoing at the jetty due to prior approval, no goods can be exported if there is no customs clearance.

Khairul Alam, director of the Shipping Agents Association, warned that the shutdown could cause a severe crisis in import and export as suspension of all customs operations would paralyze the port.

According to our Jashore office, since Saturday morning, no officials at the Benapole Customs House took their seats, and staff refrained from working. As a result, no goods were imported or exported through Benapole land port, raising fears of cargo congestion.

Matiur Rahman, a trader, said due to the shutdown, at least 100 trucks scheduled for export and 400 for import were held up on Saturday. It stopped the supply of industrial raw materials.

In Chapainawabganj, imports and exports through the Sonamasjid land port have also ceased due to the shutdown. As of Saturday evening, no goods had arrived from India, nor had any exports departed, according to customs officials and representatives from the port's managing company, Panama Port Link Limited.

Sonamasjid land port customs officials said they are enforcing a shutdown in line with the central programme, suspending all revenue-related activities. At least six export product-laden trucks have been stranded at the port.

Assistant commissioner of customs Ariful Islam told the media that if new central programmes are announced in the evening, those will also be observed at Sonamasjid. Manager of Panama Port Link, Mainul Islam, added that import-export activities completely stopped at the port, and hundreds of trucks carrying goods for Bangladesh were now stuck at the Indian Mahadipur land port.

In Brahmanbaria, the shutdown suspended operations at Akhaura land port. On Saturday, only 26 trucks managed to cross into Agartala based on previously approved documents. No new trucks arrived at the port. A trader named Hasibul Hasan said only pre-cleared goods were dispatched.

Mahmudul Hasan, assistant director of Akhaura land port, said 30 tonnes of flour and 115 tonnes of fish were exported to Agartala in three and 23 trucks respectively.

Revenue officer of the port, Mohammad Jahangir Alam, told Prothom Alo that all officials and staff remained at their stations. While the port continues to facilitate cross-border passenger movement, no traders went there with new papers.

In Panchagarh, import-export, and customs activities at Banglabandha land port were also suspended on Saturday due to the shutdown. Although 148 trucks carrying stones imported from Bhutan entered the port, no goods received customs clearance or release, leaving the cargo awaiting processing.