The downside of lower tariffs or duty-free access of imports into the EU markets which has benefited Bangladesh, making it very competitive in the global apparel trade and also the envy of many exporters in other manufacturing destinations who are struggling to meet tight prices offered by European buyers, is the lure to frauds. In a recent development, a high profile anti-fraud team from European Commission (EC) has flown down to Dhaka to counter-check thousands of suspected apparel export documents they seized in different European countries by which importers evaded duty worth 30 million euro.
During investigations the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) found several thousands of third-country shipments in which forged documents were used showing Bangladesh as their origin to avail the GSP facility. The OLAF believes that the scale of the problem was much larger than originally thought, involving hundreds of importers spread across the EU. To investigate the authenticity of the seized documents, the OLAF team will visit the National Board of Revenue, Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) and several individual export organizations in Dhaka and Chittagong. The objective is to ascertain the real origin of the textiles and recover the customs duties, as also start prosecuting the importers who are using this fraudulent method to bring in garments to the EU duty-free.
The OLAF team is also trying to identify the methodology of how a third country used Bangladesh quota of GSP certificates despite the fact that the EPB launched a new type of GSP certificate from January 1, 2008 which included a security seal and stringent policy of distribution.
