Fake cigarette stamps hidden behind printing-machine declaration, Tk 46 crore revenue at risk

A cargo container brought to Chattogram port under a declaration of importing a printing machine has instead been found to contain a huge quantity of cosmetics and 4,080,000 fake cigarette stamps. The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has identified a revenue risk of nearly Tk 46 crore in the incident.

The National Board of Revenue shared the information on Sunday.

A firm named China Mart, located at Jamuna Future Park in the capital, imported the consignment. The container reached Chattogram port on August 9. The import documents listed the goods as a printing machine.

According to the NBR, on November 5, officers of the CIC and the AIR branch of Chattogram Custom House jointly examined the container in detail. No trace of the declared printing machine was found.

Instead, the container held a large quantity of cosmetics and fake cigarette stamps. The examination recovered a total of 4,080,000 fake cigarette stamps.

The stamps are suitable for use on packets of low-segment cigarettes containing 20 sticks. The NBR said the fixed retail price of a packet of 20 low-segment cigarettes in the country is Tk 130.

In return, the government receives Tk 106.60 in revenue from each packet. On that basis, had the recovered fake stamps been used to produce and market cigarettes illegally, the government could have lost an estimated Tk 43.5 crore in revenue.

On the other hand, an initial estimate has identified duty and tax evasion of about Tk 2.5 crore on the cosmetics found in the container.

Taken together, the NBR has identified a revenue risk of nearly Tk 46 crore, combining the potential revenue loss from illegal cigarette production using the fake stamps and the duty and tax evasion on the cosmetics imports.

The NBR said that illegal production and marketing of cigarettes using fake stamps deprives the government of huge revenue, while businesses that legally produce and market tobacco products face unfair competition.

The NBR said this threatens not only the country's revenue system but also the legitimate business environment.

The NBR added that intelligence surveillance and risk-based operations continue to prevent irregularities in import-export trade, misdeclaration of goods, duty and tax evasion, and the marketing of illegal goods.

The NBR said the process of taking appropriate legal action against those involved in the incident is under way.