‘The taskforce will take both preventive and punitive measures and play a proactive role’
The recently reconstituted central anti-smuggling taskforce will prepare a research paper which will disclose a complete statistics for smuggling and depict its real scenario.
It will also formulate a year-long work plan considering three key issues – security of the state, threat to revenue mobilisation and protection of social system – for carrying out its task.
National Board of Revenue (NBR) Chairman Nojibur Rahman, also head of the newly reconstituted central anti-smuggling taskforce, made the disclosure to reporters on Sunday after its first meeting of the newly formed committee at the NBR headquarters.
The anti-smuggling watchdog will focus on bringing dynamism to the country’s regional anti-smuggling taskforces and also work closely with the deputy commissioners of districts and upazila nirbahi officers to make its plan a success, he said.
The taskforce will take both preventive and punitive measures and play a proactive role, added Nojibur.
Information sharing with different agencies and the media will also be done in due manner.
Some 80% of the money laundering incidents are trade-based. The task force has sought cooperation from all agencies to deal with the challenge, officials said.
The meeting discussed 17 core issues including expediting the cases related to smuggling, construction of Border Outpost on Indo-Bangla border, seeking support from Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission on expansion of mobile network in the Sundarbans, appointment of lawyers and increasing vigilance to Moitree Express train service, which runs between India and Bangladesh, to combat combat transportation of smuggled goods.
The meeting also discussed how to seek support from the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) of India to stem the entrance of Yaba in Bangladesh from India. Earlier, Yaba was transported to Bangladesh from Myanmar, but now the smugglers have changed their route. They are mulling the smuggling of Yaba into Bangladesh from India, said officials.
The meeting also discussed re-structuring duty on entrance of cattle from India and divisional commissioner of Rajshahi was assigned to look into the matter. It also talked about tasking Bangladesh Coast Guard with formulating a combined monitoring cell and a joint intelligence cell to combat smuggling in coastal areas, meeting sources said.
The first meeting of the recently reconstituted central anti-smuggling taskforce was attended by NBR members, commissioners of customs houses; customs, excise and VAT commissionerates and members of the taskforce including representatives from different government offices and law enforcement and intelligence agencies including all divisional commissioners, representatives from Rapid Action Battalion, Narcotics Control Department, Police, Border Guard Bangladesh, National Security Intelligence, Bangladesh Coast Guard, Directorate General of Forces Intelligence and Bangladesh Bank.
The existing anti-smuggling committee was earlier formed in 1988.
