Faruk Rahman, Satkhira: Despite the political and economic instability in the country, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) has collected Tk 512 crore 47 lakh in revenue from Bhomra Land Port in Satkhira in the first five months (July-November) of the current 2024-2025 fiscal year.
The revenue collection target during this period was Tk 639 crore 63 lakh. Accordingly, this land port is about Tk 127 crore behind the target.
According to this information from the revenue department of Bhomra Customs Station, people related to the port say that the desired pace of trade is not returning due to various infrastructural crises and administrative complications existing at the port.
Meanwhile, such are the complaints of business leaders related to the customs house, which is limited to paper. People related to the port say that although Bhomra Land Port has been declared a full-fledged ‘Customs House’, it has no reflection in reality.
Importers and traders say that despite the increase in status on paper, the port’s infrastructure has not been developed. Like other land ports in the country, importers are losing interest in using this port due to the lack of facilities.
Although there is a post at Bhomra Land Port, the lack of a commissioner has led to stagnation in the port’s activities, said the leaders of business organizations.
Business leaders said that the post of full-time commissioner has been vacant at Bhomra Land Port Customs for a long time. As a result, if there are complications in determining the HS code (goods identification code) of imported goods and customs duties, no decision can be made quickly.
They also said that only the commissioner has the power to give immediate decisions on the clearance of goods. But since that post is vacant, the port’s commercial activities are running at a slow pace, much like a ‘boat without a helmsman’. In addition, manpower shortage and administrative stagnation are also major obstacles to trade.
Port users believe that this important land port of the country can play a bigger role in revenue collection if issues like infrastructure development and appointment of commissioners are resolved.
Abu Hasan, president of the Bhomra Land Port C&F Agents Association, said that the distance from Bhomra to Kolkata is shorter than other ports in Bangladesh. Therefore, if the facilities at this port are increased, traders from different parts of the country can use this port to do import and export business. In addition, if a full-time commissioner is appointed at the port customs house, the work of the port will speed up.
He also said that if warehouses are constructed at the port and equipment is properly arranged for testing and inspecting various types of imported and exported goods, the overall speed of the port will return. As a result, traders will be able to do business easily using this mantra. The government will be able to collect a large amount of revenue from here.
Assistant Commissioner of Bhomra Land Port Customs Station, Mustafa Kamal, said, “There is an equal opportunity for all traders to do business here in a transparent and clean manner. Revenue collection is accelerating as opportunities for irregularities and corruption are closed. If this trend continues, there is a possibility of meeting the target by the end of the fiscal year, or even exceeding it.”
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