All of Bangladesh's customs facilities known as letter of credit (L/C) stations came to a halt for two days at the beginning of this month after customs and VAT officials walked out on an indefinite strike.

The strike all but halted flows of transactions involving L/Cs and although the strikers agreed to go back to work on 4 August, they may walk out again in a fortnight if the government fails to deliver the resolution it has promised.

Tax evasion

Several grievances are claimed by the officials who are particularly incensed by what they describe as harassment from investigators from the country's Bureau of Anti-Corruption (BAC). Its investigators have filed 12 cases against some customs officers for alleged involvement in customs evasion scams.

The officials are also demanding the dismissal of BAC Inspector Farid Ahmad Patwary who filed the case against the customs officials, and empowered the authorities to investigate fake documents allegedly used in clearing and forwarding activities at customs points.

Resolution

During the strike, imported goods were not released and exports, although not halted, were delayed. This frustrated business people who called on the government to sort the matter out.

The customs and VAT officials subsequently agreed on 4 August to call off their indefinite strike for 15 days following assurances by finance minister Saifur Rahman that he would address the "legitimate demands" of the officials.

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