NBR to hand over 30 duty-free cars to govt

CHATTOGRAM: The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has decided to hand over 30 luxury vehicles, imported by former ministers and members of parliament (MPs) under duty-free facilities, to the government after two failed attempts to sell those at auction.

Its Chairman Md Abdur Rahman Khan announced the decision on Saturday after a workshop at the Chittagong Port Auditorium.

He told journalists, "We will ultimately give these cars to the government. They will be placed in the public administration's transport pool for official use."

The cars were imported under tax-free privileges by lawmakers of the dissolved 12th parliament, most of them from the Awami League, after the January 2024 elections.

Following the student-led uprising on August 5 that toppled the government, the parliament was dissolved the next day and the NBR cancelled the duty waiver.

Many former MPs fled the country without releasing their vehicles from the port.

Of the 42 cars brought in, the Chattogram customs house put 24 up for auction in February this year.

Bids ranged from Tk 0.1 million to Tk 31 million - far below market prices and the government's reserve value of Tk 96.7 million per car.

The minimum winning bid was set at 60 per cent of the reserve price, or about Tk 58 million, with a 25 per cent tax, pushing the final floor price to Tk 72.5 million.

Customs officials had hoped to raise Tk 1.75 billion in revenue.

The NBR chairman also said on Saturday, "Auction prices were far too low. Selling those cheaply would force the government to spend heavily on buying similar cars again. Considering national interests, we decided to add those directly to the government's transport pool." Among those who imported vehicles are ex-MPs Muhammad Saiful Islam, Sanjida Khanam, Muhammad Shahjahan Omar, Sourendra Nath Chakraborty, Anupam Shahjahan Joy, Sajjadul Hasan, Md Saddam Hossain Pavel, Tarana Halim, Naser Shahriar Zahedi, Md Abul Kalam Azad, and former state minister for information Mohammad Ali Arafat.

The duty-free import privilege for MPs was introduced in 1988 during the HM Ershad regime and has remained in force since then.

Under the existing rules, each lawmaker can import a car during a five-year term.

After the January 2024 elections, 51 MPs opened letters of credit to bring in new vehicles, though only six were cleared before the government fell.

Cars can be auctioned if not released within 30 days of arrival at the port.

The Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) also charges storage fees after a four-day grace period.

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