মঙ্গলবার, ১৬ই এপ্রিল, ২০২৪ খ্রিস্টাব্দ ৩রা বৈশাখ, ১৪৩১ বঙ্গাব্দ

Imported low-quality bitumen released on forged documents

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Chattogram: Chattogram Customs seized a consignment of imported substandard bitumen on Monday while the product was being released on forged standard certificate.

The importer ‘National Development Engineers Limited’ of Dhaka submitted the fake standard certificate to Chattogram Customs for the release of one lakh tonnes of the imported bitumen.

They also took delivery of nine containers after paying customs duty of Tk 72 lakh on Monday. The customs authority detected the forgery while scrutinised the standard certificate after receiving a complaint.
Later, the Chattogram Customs seized the consignment and issued a directive to bring back the released bitumen to the port again.

Customs Assistant Commissioner Uttam Chakma said they have been passing busy time for having only three days left of the fiscal year. “The importer and C&F agent Sunshine Agency picked the time for the forgery,” he said.

“The standard certificate of the Eastern Refinery has been forged in such a way that there is no scope to detect it easily. In these circumstances, nine containers were released on Monday,” said the AC.

“I physically went to the spot and gave instructions to bring back the released containers. I hope to get them back soon,” he said.

Customs authority takes legal action after detecting any frauds, said sources.

Contacted, Chattogram Customs Commissioner Mohammad Fakhrul Alam said it is a crime to release goods without a valid standard certificate. It is also a more serious crime to forge the certificate of a government institution.
“We are bringing back the released bitumen. Then, we will issue show-cause notices to the importer and C&F agent. I will ensure strict legal punishment sparing none,” warned the commissioner.

Mentionable, there has been an allegation of importing substandard bitumen for a long. The quality of the imported bitumen has not being ensured. As a result, substandard bitumen is being imported regularly and it cannot be stopped.

Consequently, the government has been spending thousands of crores of taka on road maintenance.

The Commerce Ministry on May 25 this year made it mandatory to test the quality of the bitumen at three laboratories. The provision of the mandatory quality test has put the forging syndicate in great trouble.

It is the first consignment seized by the customs after making the quality test mandatory for bitumen import.

After failing to pass the sample test, the importer attempted to release the bitumen by submitting a fake certificate.

Sources said an import consignment of ‘National Development Engineers Limited’ reached the Chattogram Port on June 14.

The consignment contained around one lakh tonnes of bitumen in 50 containers worth $417,000.

Sample of the bitumen was collected on June 20 after the item was unloaded from the Iranian-flagged vessel ‘MV Negar’ in Chattogram Port.

Later, the sample was sent to Eastern Refinery Limited (ERL), which issued the standard certificate on June 24.

The standard of the sample was tested in eight categories. But the sample didn’t pass the standard in two categories.

There was no scope to get the goods delivered through the original certificate.

So, the importer and C&F agent of Chattogram adopted the tactics of submitting the fake certificate instead of the original one issued by the ERL.

Asked about the fraud, C&F agent Owner Mahmud Reza said they often work for the importer.

“I don’t know about the matter of releasing the bitumen with a fake certificate,” he claimed.

He refused to talk on this issue, claiming that he was sick.

However, when asked about the return of the nine containers, he wanted to talk to the reporter face to face.

When contacted, ERL Deputy General Manager (Quality control) Zahidul Islam said the customs authority informed him of the fraud over the phone on Monday afternoon.

“I also confirmed them about the original certificate,” he said.

He also said that samples of the ‘National Development Engineers Limited’ didn’t pass the standard in the testing.

“We found the penetration of 72 against the ERL’s specification of 60 to 70. I do not know the importer forged the certificate,” said the DGM.

Mentionable, there is a rule to send the standard certificates to Customs both manually and by mail after several such incidents of certificate forgeries were detected last year.

Asked why the rule was not followed in this case, Zahidul said the C&F agent normally sends the sealed sample to them on behalf of the importer and also takes away the sealed standard certificate to the customs.

In this case, the C&F agent is the carrier.

“If the Customs now wants standard certificate through email then we can provide it. Then the fraud can be stopped, he opined.

Investigation revealed that the seal of UAE is used as the producing country after buying the substandard 80-100 grade bitumen from Iran.

Prior to that different adulterated items is mixed with the bitumen at different ports of the UAE after bringing from the Al Abbas Port of Iran.

It causes the bitumen to gain weight along with losing standard further. The importers fell into great trouble after making the test mandatory for taking delivery of the bitumen from the Chattogram port.