The Comilla Customs Excise and VAT Commissionerate Zone collected Tk3,134 crore during the fiscal year 2020-21 amid the Covid-19 pandemic, up from Tk2,883 crore in FY2019-20 .
In June, they collected Tk510 crore, against a target of Tk369 crore, a 38% increase. The June collection figure alone was a 62% year-on-year increase from FY20.
Before the 2019-20 fiscal, their previous collection record was Tk2,954 crore in 2018-19 fiscal.
Talking with a few revenue collection officers in the district, this Dhaka Tribune found some interesting anecdotes on how the state coffers kept ringing.
A revenue collection officer recalled the story of a brick kiln owner, who was unable to pay arrears, sold next season's bricks in advance and deposited Tk9 lakh to the government treasury.
Another was a deceased person who owed Tk9.5 lakh to the revenue collection office 27 years ago.
Special arrangements were made with the deceased's family and another acquaintance, who happened to be a jailor of Chandpur Central Jail, after which Tk6 lakh was realized in revenue.
Separate task forces have been formed to cover six regions, namely Comilla, Feni, Noakhali, Laxmipur, Chandpur, and Brahmanbaria, to collect the revenue.
Salauddin Ripon, assistant commissioner of Comilla Customs Excise and VAT Commissionerate Zone, told Dhaka Tribune that Tk3,314 crore was the highest revenue collection in the history of Comilla Commissionerate.
A lot of hard work went into this. Several special teams were formed from the department to collect revenue. To collect revenue, one had to visit remote areas in person. Comilla's success was unexpected and unprecedented, he also said.
Ripon added that even in May, Comilla was 13% behind the annual revenue target.
Comilla Commissionerate Commissioner Mohammad Belal Hossain Chowdhury said that it was difficult to sustain the growth of the previous fiscal due to the pandemic.
"In spite of that, our growth was 72%. It was not easy to overcome the odds and achieve new heights," he added.
