While reports of gold smuggling in Bangladesh are common, diamond smuggling remains largely unnoticed.
The country's diamond market, worth around Tk11,000 crore, relies heavily on smuggling, resulting in significant revenue losses for the government and placing legitimate traders in crisis.
The Bangladesh Jewellers' Association (Bajus) highlighted these concerns at a press conference in the capital on Monday, urging action to curb gold and diamond smuggling.
Bajus Executive Committee Vice President Md Ripnul Hasan said that customs duty evasion is rampant due to the illegal import of diamonds. The tax on importing rough diamonds is 89% without bond facility, while the tax on smooth diamonds is around 151%. To evade these high duties, a substantial amount of diamonds are smuggled into the country. Despite the diamond market being valued at Tk11,000 crore, the government has only collected Tk12 crore in revenue from diamond imports over the past 19 years.
Bajus mentioned that 30 districts in Bangladesh border India, with Meherpur, Kushtia, Chuadanga, Jhenaidah, Jessore, and Satkhira in the Khulna division being key routes for gold smuggling. A significant portion of gold smuggled into India passes through these districts.
According to Bajus, illegal gold ornaments, gold bars, and diamond jewellery worth at least Tk250 crore are smuggled into Bangladesh daily via water, land, and air. Annually, this amounts to over Tk91,250 crore, with Tk80,300 crore worth of gold and Tk10,950 crore worth of diamonds entering the country illegally. The proceeds from these smuggled goods are then sent abroad through hundi by gold and diamond smugglers.