Every year, Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) and Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation (Petrobangla) import gasoline from other countries to meet the nation’s energy needs. Petrobangla imports LNG (liquefied natural gas) to help ease the gas issue.
For the last three years, Petrobangla, the national gas firm owned by the government, has not paid any customs duties on gas imports, even though it has been importing LNG since the fiscal year 2017–18. This has led to Chittagong Customs House (CCH) having Taka 14,713.51 crore in outstanding debt. Petrobangla has not responded to or paid the unpaid sum despite numerous letters from CCH.
Meanwhile, BPC, the sole fuel oil supplier in the domestic market, has also ignored its dues to CCH, despite being profitable. BPC’s subsidiaries—Padma, Meghna, Jamuna, Eastern Refinery, and Standard Asiatic Oil—owe Taka 2,067.69 crore in customs duties on imported diesel, octane, petrol, and other fuels.
CCH is owed Taka 808.54 crore in outstanding customs duties from Meghna Petroleum Limited, Taka 633.19 crore from Padma Oil Company Limited, and Taka 447.87 crore from Jamuna Oil Company Ltd. Additionally, Eastern Refinery Limited has outstanding dues of Taka 171.84 crore, while Standard Asiatic Oil Company Limited owes Taka 6.25 crore. Despite making profits from the sale of fuel oil, these companies have not settled their dues with customs.
With an annual sales volume of about 7.5 million tonnes, BPC continues to be the only domestic provider of fuel oil. All of its fuel products are imported and sold via its subsidiaries. Between the fiscal years 2017–18 and 2023–24, Petrobangla bought 12.45 million tonnes of LNG, valued at Taka 43,966 crore.
Despite some early payments from Petrobangla, CCH has not received its dues since July 2021. Petrobangla had Taka 14,713.51 crore in outstanding debt as of July of this year.
Chittagong Customs House has repeatedly sent letters to Petrobangla’s chairman, urging the settlement of outstanding dues. The dues include a total customs duty of 22 per cent on LNG imports, comprising VAT, advance tax, and advance VAT. Despite these reminders, Petrobangla has failed to make any progress in clearing the dues, marking this as the largest amount owed to CCH by a single entity.
CCH officials advised that in order to finish the customs clearing procedure for imported goods, importers need to provide the commissioner with a bill of entry. Lawfully, importers must also pay the relevant duties; but, Petrobangla has eschewed these obligations for the last three years. The state-run organisation imported LNG and used pipelines to deliver it straight to the national grid from ships without needing to file a bill of entry, get customs clearance, or pay any necessary fees.
Officials went on to say that because LNG has specific qualities, it must be transported in specialised floating structures rather than containers that may be kept in port storage. As a result, pipelines from the floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) supply the gas straight to the national grid.
Given Petrobangla’s status as a government agency with national interests at stake, enforcement of legal action has been difficult, they added.
