Benapole Customs Misses FY26 Revenue Target by Tk4,731 Crore

Benapole Customs House, Bangladesh’s largest land port, missed its revised revenue target by Tk4,731 crore for the 2025-26 fiscal year. While officials attribute the shortfall to a 197,000-tonne drop in imports and sluggish trade, stakeholders point to systemic corruption and mismanagement.

Investigations have uncovered serious irregularities, including weighbridge manipulation, duty evasion, and the theft of goods from port sheds. In one instance, a digital weighbridge generated two different weight records for the same truck simultaneously. Traders suggest that a steep hike in SAFTA import duties—rising from 7% to 35% over two years—has encouraged importers to misdeclare high-duty goods as low-duty items to save costs.

Criminal activity within the port has triggered several high-profile seizures. In March, authorities discovered the theft of Indian sarees worth Tk6 crore that were falsely declared as baking powder. More recently, the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) seized cosmetics and clothing worth Tk2.5 crore, leading to the detention of a revenue officer.

In response, authorities have filed four criminal cases involving 54 suspects, including customs officials and security personnel. Additionally, the licenses of nine clearing and forwarding (C&F) agents have been suspended.

Customs Commissioner Md Faizur Rahman stated that no one involved in revenue leakage would be spared from departmental or criminal action. However, business leaders continue to demand round-the-clock technology-based monitoring and impartial investigations to address the root causes of these persistent irregularities.