Govt rolls out a-Challan system

The government has launched a system for direct deposit of customs duties and taxes into the treasury through automated challans (a-Challan).

At the initiative of the Finance Division and the National Board of Revenue (NBR), the new system came into effect at the beginning of the fiscal year enabling importers, exporters, and their nominated C&F agents to directly deposit customs-related duties and taxes into the government treasury online or offline, said a press statement of the NBR.

It's an integration between the Customs Asycuda World System and the a-Challan platform marking a new era in customs tax payments. This system has been jointly implemented by NBR's Asycuda World team and the Finance Division's iBAS++ team.

Under the previous system, duties and taxes deposited via RTGS during fixed banking hours often took several days to be reflected in the treasury, resulting in financial inefficiencies for the government.

From now on, duties and taxes can be paid online at any time (24/7) and from anywhere, enabling faster clearance of goods. Since the money deposited through a-challan will instantly reach the government treasury, the government will be able to immediately utilize this cash.

After successfully integrating the a-Challan system of the  Finance Division's iBAS++ platform with the NBR's Asycuda World system, a training programme was conducted on July 1-2, for importers, exporters, C&F agents, and all levels of customs officers under Chattogram Customs House.

Starting from July 3, customs duties and taxes have successfully been deposited directly into the treasury through Sonali Bank's Customs House branches and all scheduled banks. On that day alone, more than Tk 1.30 billion in customs duties was instantly deposited into the treasury against 75 bill of entries.

The a-chalan system supports multiple payment modes, including internet banking, debit/credit cards, and mobile financial services such as bKash, Rocket, Nagad, Upay, mCash, and TrustPay.

System-generated receipt numbers are used to clear goods from the port. Alternatively, payment can be made at any branch counter (11,700 branches of 61 banks) via account debit or cheque clearing.

Earlier on April 23, the pilot programme for collecting duties via this system was initiated at ICD Kamalapur Customs House. It was later expanded to Pangaon Customs House. Chattogram Customs House became the third station to implement this system on July 3. Starting from July 7, Dhaka Customs House and all other customs houses will implement the a-Challan to directly deposit duties and taxes into the government treasury online.

This direct deposit system will not only ensure greater transparency in revenue collection but will also make the process easier and more efficient, contributing to improved fiscal discipline for the government.

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