Truck seized with smuggled garments worth Rs 10m
BIRGUNJ, APR 25 -
A large scale smuggling of garments in collusion with Birgunj customs employees came to light on Tuesday when Narayani Zonal Police seized truck carrying the garments.
The truck with the registration number Na 3 Kha 4539 carrying garment worth Rs 10 million was allowed to leave the customs yard without going through the formal customs clearance process. The trucks exiting yard was failing to produce custom clearance documents.
Acting on a tip-off, police took the truck under control for inspection and found that the importer did not have customs clearance documents for 101 sacks of expensive saris, shirting and suiting, woolen shawl, kurta salwar and poplin. “Nobody has approached us so far to claim the garments,” said Senior Superintendent of Police Sarbendra Khanal.
According to him, a police team led by Deputy Superintendent of Police Sanjaya Singh took control the truck. Based on information that there have been large scale smugglings taking place in collusion with customs employees, police was upping their vigilance since the last 3-4 days.
The traders have to pay 18-33 percent of tax on garment imports. There are difference tax structures for synthetic sari, kurta salwar, shirting and suiting and cotton textiles, according to Customs Officer Guna Raj Luitel. No value added tax (VAT) is imposed on the import of cotton textiles. But the seized truck was not carrying any cotton items. According to police, most of the trucks carry garments that are subject to higher tax. Trucks should produce a gate pass to customs employees at the gate before leaving the customs yard. But driver of the seized truck Rahamat Alam, a resident of Bahuari, Birgunj-17, left the yard telling customs employees that issue of the gate pass would be settled later.
“The traders are often found to under invoice and reduce quantity of garments attracting higher duty in documents,” said a custom agent. “This is the first time that truck was allowed to exit the customs yard that failed to produce a customs clearance document.”
The customs officials, however, claimed that the goods without customs clearance documents did not pass through the customs office. Luitel suspects the seized goods could have been smuggled from elsewhere. “The customs office doesn’t take responsibility of goods without gate pass and customs clearance document,” he added.
Driver Alam has, however, told journalists that he took away the truck through the customs office. The customs office has installed six CCTV cameras at the customs yard to control illegal activities. “But, the goods that are cleared without proper checking are loaded outside the reach of CCTV cameras,” said a source familiar with the customs works. “Trucks carrying such goods don’t have to go for entry at the customs office.”
The traders have to pay duty worth Rs 2.5 million on an average for the import of a truck of garments, according to sources. But smugglers clear the goods at half the amount and deliver the goods to the importers.
Source: The Kathmandu Post
