Luxury car bought ‘dodging tax’ seized in Ctg

Customs Intelligence seized a luxury car worth Tk 3 crore, which was allegedly brought into the country by dodging tax, from Nasirabad area in Chittagong toady.

Acting on a tip-off, a custom intelligence team raided a businessman’s house at Nasriabad industrial area and seized the Mitsubishi Shogun car, imported from England, from the garage, reports our Chittagong correspondent.

The car was imported under “Carnet de Passage” to evade duty, said SM Shamimur Rahman, deputy director of Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate.

“Carnet de Passage” is an international customs facility offered to tourists for temporary import of private vehicles and under the facility and tourists are allowed to import vehicles into a country without paying any duty for a limited period on condition of re-exporting the same, he said.

“It is a 3200cc car and usually an importer has to pay 600 percent to 650 percent tax for this type of luxury car,” the official said.

Shamimur also said, as per the rule, a car imported under “Carnet de Passage” facility, must be re-exported within three months but apparently the seized car was imported in between 2009 and 2011.

The customs intelligence official concluded that, “We are investigating into the matter.”