NBR halts export, import by Abdul Monem Group

The National Board of Revenue has suspended all imports and exports by Abdul Monem Group and all its subsidiaries, including Abdul Monem Sugar Refinery, over misuse of bond facilities and non-payment of applicable duty and fines worth Tk 674.35 crore.

In an order dated April 23, the regulator also asked three banks -- Dutch-Bangla Bank, Bank Asia and Jamuna Bank -- to freeze the company's accounts and report back to Dhaka (South) Customs Bond Commissionerate, which issued the order.

This means, the company will not be able to carry out any transactions through these banks.

The same order instructed all sea ports, land ports and airports of the country to withhold the release of any goods imported by the company.

A copy of the letter, signed by Bond Commissionerate (Dhaka South) Deputy Commissioner Dwaipayan Chakma, was also sent to the Export Promotion Bureau to make sure that the Group cannot undertake any export activities.

Additionally, bond officials at the sugar warehouses of the company have been asked to stop the production and supply of all kinds of raw sugar brought to the bonded warehouses by the sugar refinery.

According to the NBR letter, the company illegally removed 5.25 lakh tonnes of raw sugar from its bonded warehouse without paying customs duties worth Tk 1205.52 crore. Although it was ordered to pay the sum in six installments, the company paid only Tk 533.17 crore. The remaining Tk 674.35 crore has not yet been deposited.

Earlier, a two-member committee headed by the then additional commissioner of Chattogram Customs, Abu Noor Rashed, looked into the bond register and import information of the company from March 2020 to March 2021.

The probe report, seen by The Daily Star, shows the company imported 2.13 lakh tonnes of raw sugar against its entitlement of 1.11 lakh tonnes at the time.

This means, the company imported 1.02 lakh tonnes of surplus raw sugar without paying customs duty worth Tk 217 crore during that period alone, the report said.

Customs officials told The Daily Star yesterday that Abdul Monem Sugar Refinery Limited imports and releases raw sugar under bond (for home consumption) facility without paying any customs duty on condition that the duty will be paid when the items are released from the bonded warehouse.

"But the company imports goods beyond its entitlement and markets them without paying duty. As a result, the government is not getting import duty and VAT on those imports," one official said.

Contacted, Chief Commercial Officer of the Group Kazi Nazmul Hasan said, "We released the goods from the port with prior permission from the customs and bond authorities. However, we failed to pay the duty immediately while releasing the goods from the bonded warehouse. This was a procedural lapse on our part due to various business challenges, but we had no intention to evade duties."

He said the company already paid half the installments and is committed to pay the rest in phases in the coming days.

"We also met the commissioner of the Customs Bond Commissionerate today [yesterday], and offered to pay Tk 100 crore immediately to resolve the issue," he added.

Customs Bond Commissionerate (Dhaka South) Commissioner Khaled Mohammad Abu Hasan did not pick up the call yesterday.

But one official with direct knowledge of the development said the company was fined Tk 15 crore over duty evasion worth Tk 1190.52 core following an investigation spanning more than two years.

"But the company did not pay the amount in full, even after the Bond Commissionerate issued several notices," the official said, requesting anonymity as he is not authorised to speak to the media.

Meanwhile, six customs officials at Chattogram, Mongla, Dhaka and Kamalapur ICD Customs houses confirmed that the NBR instructions took effect yesterday.

Officials said they already suspended the release of hundreds of consignments of six companies owned by the Group.

Of them, shipment of about 50,000 tonnes of raw sugar and food products in 10 consignments of Abdul Monem Sugar Refinery Limited at Chattogram port was stopped yesterday.

Officials also suspended at least 10 more shipments of the company's Igloo Dairy, AM Beverage, Igloo Ice Cream, AML Construction and other subsidiary companies.

"All consignments of the company have been suspended. At the same time, there is no scope to release the imported and exported goods as the company's BIN [Business Identification Number] has been locked," Mohammad Fyzur Rahman, commissioner of Chattogram Custom House, told The Daily Star.

Kamalapur ICD Customs Commissioner Akbar Hossain said they relayed the NBR instructions to the officials concerned and to act accordingly.