Customs intelligence officials have uncovered a massive inventory discrepancy involving over 13.35 lakh kg of duty-free raw materials missing from the warehouse of Jes Accessories BD Limited in Pahartali, Chattogram.
According to a press release issued by the National Board of Revenue (NBR) on Monday, the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate (CIID) conducted an inspection and verification drive at the factory on 28 September.
Jes Accessories BD Limited imports various types of raw materials duty-free under the bonded facility, including plastic raw materials – such as LDP, HDPE, LLDPE, PP, GPPS, HIPS, and BOPP – alongside duplex board and rubber thread yarn.
During the inspection, officials cross-checked the actual stock stored in the bonded warehouse against the company’s online Utilization Permission (UP) records, revealing a major discrepancy between recorded and physical inventory.
As per online UP records, the bonded warehouse was supposed to store 1,920,857 kg of raw materials, but physical verification yielded only 585,581.2 kg. This resulted in an unaccounted shortfall of around 13.35 lakh kg of raw materials.
Citing declared values from the latest imported Bills of Entry, CIID sources stated that the assessable value of the missing raw materials stands at Tk24.96 crore. The applicable duty and tax involved on these goods total Tk9.10 crore.
The NBR stated that CIID is investigating the deficit to determine whether the duty-free raw materials were properly utilised in authorised production and export activities or illegally diverted elsewhere by abusing bond facilities.
The agency added that appropriate legal action will be taken under applicable laws upon completion of the investigation and verification of relevant documents.
