Ctg Customs' revenue keeps falling for 5 straight months

Infograph: TBS

Chattogram customs has experienced a decline in revenue collection for five months in a row, up until April this year, mainly due to a decrease in imports caused by the ongoing dollar crisis and a global economic slowdown triggered by the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

In April, the collection in customs duty stood at Tk4,559 crore, which is 14.45% down from a year ago and 33.34% short of the target set for that month.

According to data from the country's largest customs station, revenue collection dropped in six of the first 10 months of the current fiscal year, including a 0.17% decline in September.

It has resulted in a drop in overall growth in customs duty collection.

Although the fiscal 2022-23 began with a robust 40.87% growth in July, the overall customs duty collection growth stood at 1.57% in 10 months through April, compared to 20.70% growth in the same period of the previous fiscal year.

Businesspeople have attributed the decline in revenue collection to a drop in imports, which is due to the restrictions imposed by the government amid depleting forex reserves and the war-induced slowdown in global trade.

They emphasised the importance of maintaining consistency in customs duty collection to keep the wheels of the economy moving.

Mahbubul Alam, president of the Chattogram Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said, "Banks are not able to open letters of credit (LCs) as per the demand. As a result, the import volume has decreased compared to the last fiscal year. This has affected the collection of customs duty."

According to the customs, the amount of imports is constantly decreasing because of the government restrictions.

Md Bodruzzaman Munshi, deputy commissioner at the Chattogram Custom House, told TBS that the revenue collection has decreased due to a decline in imports of luxury goods such as cars, cosmetics, and electronics, which carry high duty.

If the trend continues in the remaining two months of the fiscal year, the overall growth will also be negative, customs officials fear.

According to data from the Chattogram customs, the revenue collection target for the fiscal 2022-23 is set at Tk74,206 crore. However, between July and April, the collection stood at Tk48,815 crore, which is way below the Tk62,647 crore target set for that period.

That is, 22.08% less revenue has been collected than the target. In the same period of the fiscal 2021-22, the collection stood at around Tk48,061 crore.

The collection saw a 24.67% year-on-year growth in September, 3.91% in October, and 14.13% in November.