DHAKA: Twenty-three influential people, those have allegation of dodging duty fees and laundering money abroad, are reportedly controlling the country’s paper industry, bringing an uncertainty to the families of some 22 lakh laborers of the industry.

The ‘duty free opportunity’ to import paper through bonded warehouse has appeared as a great trouble for the country.

Amounts of white papers are being imported in guise of importing napkin, facial and toilet tissue, electrocardiography (ECG) paper by misusing the opportunity.

Imported white papers are dominating the warehouses in the city’s Nawabpur, Zindabazar, Islampur, Fakirapool areas.

The duty dodging of crores of government money, in the name of paper import, is not being stopped in any way. Even money is being laundered through back to back letter of credit (LC).

Thermal and carbonless papers, which are used in the hospitals, are also being brought to the country with the ECG papers; even several hundreds of tones of white papers, art cards, and Swedish boards are being imported too.

These products are also being sold in the markets openly, taking the duty free opportunity.

An official at Commerce Ministry, who declined to be named, told banglanews, “Initiatives, which were previously taken to stop the misuses of formalin, can be implied in paper imports; it may somewhat decrease the widespread paper import using the duty free opportunity”.

The imported papers carry different types of germs but those enter the country without any test.

A high official at Bangladesh Standards & Testing Institution (BSTI) said, “Test (of possible germ carried) in papers is not included in the BSTI list of the mandatory tests”.

But mandatory test on the quality of paper is necessary to protect the public health, opined the official.

Sources concerned said local agents to the foreign companies are siphoning off an approximate amount of $2 billions (TK 14,500 crore) every year in the name of importing papers, cloths and other goods using the means of back to back LC.

Actions are not allegedly being taken against the responsible persons though the guilty people have already been identified.

Customs Department official Abul Hashem said, “About 3,000 false consignments of paper have been seized till January 2014 since the first consignment was seized on March 2010”.

Fines, value added tax (VAT) and other taxes have been realized on the ground of attempt to dodge the duty fees from the importers for violating rules.

Bangladesh Paper Mills Association sources said, according to the HS Coed 4802.55.10/00, the country has a demand of 10 tones of ECG paper only.

The ECG paper are said to be supplied to the hospital only. But questions arose on how thousands of tones of white papers are being imported using the same code.

The matter of dodging duty fees would be crystal clear, if there were inquiries regarding the amount of imported papers as well as their sales in markets in past several years, according to the association officials.

While papers being exported abroad, imports why!

High standard papers are being manufactured in the country and also being exported abroad regularly by several paper mills including Bashundhara Paper Mills Limited. For this reason, questions have been made on the imports of papers from other countries.

According to the data acquired from the paper industry owners, the industry has a market of about TK 6,000 crore and become a self-dependent industry as some 71 companies are manufacturing papers and paper related products.

These companies have a capacity to manufacture some 12 lakhs tones of paper a year against the demand of 7 lakh tones of paper across the country.

These products are being exported to a total of 30 countries around the world, bringing foreign currency to the country.

The manufacturers believe that there is no need to import paper as it is being exported after meeting the demands at home.

Despite theses, domestic paper mills are facing challenges due to the unplanned import and illegal sale of foreign papers in the home markets.

BDST: 1415 HRS MAY 06, 2014