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inspection (PSI) firms until June next year despite their poor
performances and irregularities, hinted National Board of Revenue
(NBR) officials. The NBR is yet to equip it to take over PSI
activities, while the current term of contract of the PSI firms will
expire on December 31. The revenue board, especially its customs
department, was seen busy throughout the last week centring a seminar
on PSI scheduled for Sunday. Although the seminar will look into
whether the customs department can immediately take over PSI
activities, or possibility of time extension for the firms, the NBR
officials confidently forecast another extension as it happened
earlier. "The time extension decision may come at the Sunday
meeting," a senior NBR official told The Daily Star yesterday.
Stakeholders, including business and chamber leaders, are likely to
give their opinions on the issue at the meeting. Earlier, PSI of
imported goods was made mandatory in August 2000 in the wake of
growing complaints of corruption and inefficiency against customs
officials. The BNP-led government appointed four PSI companies --
Cotecna Inspection SA, SGS ( Bangladesh) Ltd, Bureau Veritas BIVAC (
Bangladesh) Ltd and Intertek Testing Service (ITS) -- in August 2005
for three years for certifying price, quality and quantity of
imported goods. Later, the caretaker government in 2008 extended
their service period till December this year, saying that the
country's customs department is not yet equipped enough to carry out
the job of the PSI firms. Bangladesh imported goods worth over $20
billion in fiscal 2007-08 and 2008-09. PSI firms charge one
percent of import value of any goods as their fees. These firms have
earned nearly Tk 1 ,500 crore since 2005 as fees in addition to
their ' income' from under-invoicing of goods, according to NBR
officials. The time extension, if allowed further, will come amid
widespread allegations that the PSI companies have been involved in
undervaluing goods, wrong declaration, or allowing entry of
substandard and adulterated products in the country. These firms were
fined several times for their wrongdoings, according to the NBR.
Even, the caretaker government in 2008 was forced to scrap the deal
of one of the four PSI companies, Cotecna Inspection, after an NBR
probe had found that it was involved in under-valuation of imported
goods. Penalties were also imposed on other PSI firms following
detection of irregularities in deciding valuation of imported goods.
Cotecna was penalised Tk 2.65 crore, SGS Tk 1. 86 crore, Bureau
Veritas Tk 78 lakh and ITS Tk 48 lakh in different times, according
to the figures of the tax appellate tribunal of the NBR. Mahfuz
Ahmed, managing director of Gulf Orient Sea Ways, blamed SGS for
delaying inspection reports. "The firm is supposed to send the
reports to banks and customs offices within four days of inspection,
but it takes 15 to 30 days," said Ahmed who imports goods from
India. However, the president of the country's apex trade body, the
Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI),
hinted his support to the extension of the PSI services by six months.
"We need to develop our own database before scrapping the deals with
PSI agencies," said Annisul Huq. "We may support six months'
extension proposal," the FBCCI boss added. The government was supposed
to develop the customs department to replace the PSI companies. But
the condition of the department remains more or less the same as it
was previously. "The NBR failed to develop a strong database and
capacity of the customs officials," a customs commissioner told The
Daily Star seeking not to be named. During the last time-extension,
the then finance adviser of the caretaker government AB Mirza Azizul
Islam had said the government would develop its own capacity to
replace the PSI firms within the next 16 months till December 2009.
Meanwhile, the NBR had also failed to appoint an auditor to review the
activities of the PSI companies in the last nine years despite having
a provision in the rules to do so. The NBR officials blamed the
failure on resistance from vested interests, both from the revenue
board and PSI firms.
