Ctg customs resumes destruction of 111 undelivered containers

Chattogram Customs House has resumed its programme to destroy 111 containers of perishable goods that were imported at various times but left undelivered.

Beginning today (19 December), customs authorities started disposing of 2,350 tonnes of spoiled goods deemed unfit for auction.

"We destroyed goods from nine containers today, amounting to 175 tonnes. In total, 2,350 tonnes from 111 containers will be destroyed in phases," Customs' Deputy Commissioner Saidul Islam told The Business Standard.  

According to the customs house, the destruction is taking place in a designated area behind the Chattogram Port Republic Club, on land owned by the Chattogram Port Authority. A pit is being excavated at the site to bury the decayed goods.

The spoiled items include frozen shrimp, ginger, animal feed, frozen meat, fish, and chicken feed. These goods deteriorated due to importers failing to collect them, citing reasons such as natural disasters, strikes, or excessive import volumes.

This is the continuation of a broader destruction programme initiated on November 18. During the earlier phase, customs authorities disposed of 565 tons of spoiled goods from 21 containers.

These containers held perished items like ginger, onions, malt, mandarins, and dragon fruit. The goods were mixed with soil using excavators and bulldozers at the Chattogram City Corporation dumping ground in Anand Bazar, Halishahar.

Goods imported from various countries are sometimes not unloaded by importers for a variety of reasons.

Additionally, customs authorities may halt the unloading of goods due to concerns such as smuggling, forgery, discrepancies between the imported goods and the declared items, customs evasion, and other related issues.

As per the rules, a notice is issued to release and for importers to take possession of these imports within 30 days. The authorities put the goods up for auction 15 days after the notice.