Two garment factories evaded more than Tk 1.025 billion in revenue through irregularities including the illegal sale of duty-free imported fabric and declaring exports at lower values, the National Board of Revenue’s Central Intelligence Cell said.
In a statement on Monday, the NBR identified the companies as Riaz Knitwear Ltd and Lisha Tex (Pvt.) Ltd. Investigators found evidence of Tk 947.4 million in evasion by Riaz Knitwear and Tk 78.3 million by Lisha Tex.
CIC investigators inspected the factories and warehouses, checked raw-material stocks and compared import and export information with relevant documents.
Riaz Knitwear imported two thousand eight hundred sixty-two tonnes of woven polyester fabric under bond facilities through 41 utilisation declarations. About two thousand two hundred thirty-seven tonnes, or 78 percent, was not found in the factory warehouse and did not appear in export records. Investigators said the fabric had been removed from the bonded warehouse and sold on the open market.
The company’s export records contained yarn and knitwear but showed a major shortfall in woven polyester fabric. Of 31 declarations with no exports, the imported fabric had been removed in 30. In 10 declarations with partial exports, about 53 percent of the imported fabric was unaccounted for.
Inspectors found 69,382 kilograms of yarn, 845,397 pieces of finished clothing and 25,533.50 kilograms of woven polyester fabric. The fabric represented only 0.89 percent of total imports. The dutiable value of the fabric removed was Tk 1.3429 billion, and the investigation found Tk 947.4 million in unpaid duties and taxes.
About one hundred seventy-four thousand kilograms of polyester fabric imported by Lisha Tex under bond facilities was also missing. Investigators said it had been removed from the bonded warehouse and sold on the open market, causing about Tk 69 million in unpaid duties and taxes.
The company also exported more garments than approved while declaring lower export values than the contract values. Investigators found that it sourced raw materials locally outside its declarations and failed to meet the required 20 percent value-addition condition.
More than more than four hundred thousand pieces of garment accessories were bought from the local market without approval or payment of VAT. The company also evaded VAT by supplying Tk 32.3 million in kit bags to an unlicensed company. The total evasion attributed to Lisha Tex was Tk 78.3 million.
The NBR said CIC operations to prevent the misuse of bond facilities would continue.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report