Md. Moshiur Rahman: Some unscrupulous traders in Rangpur’s bidi industry have been marketing various brands of bidis in different regions of the country, including 8 districts of the division, using fake bandrolls. The government is losing hundreds of millions of rupees in revenue every month. It is alleged that a class of officials and employees of the customs department are involved in this misdeed. For this, they get a huge salary every month.
On the other hand, the growth of revenue collection as per the target has decreased in Dinajpur Custom House. In Dinajpur’s Customs, Excise, and VAT Departments, there are irregularities in every step starting with the customs process.
Some unscrupulous businesses in Dinajpur’s Gramganj are carrying on the business of selling about six or seven types of fake bandrol beedis, and there is no supervision of the administration or the Customs, Excise, and VAT departments.
On investigation in Nawabganj, Hakimpur, Fulbari, Biral, Birampur, Parvatipur, and Chirirbandar upazilas of Dinajpur, it can be seen that fake bandrol bidis are being sold in big wholesale shops, and even some types of bidis without bandrol are being sold in the shops.
Talking to the wholesale and retail shopkeepers of various haat bazaars in Dinajpur about this, they said that we do not know or know fake bidis or bandrol, so we are buying and selling low-quality bidis. Paying VAT to the government with forged bandrols is illegal, so you and the administration should pursue legal action against the bill’s owner.
Meanwhile, as per the government’s rules, the price of each 25-shalaka beedi is set at 18 taka, but the fake bandrol-attached beedis are being given to shopkeepers at a wholesale price of 7-8 taka and are being sold at a retail price of 10 taka. The government is deprived of a huge amount of revenue.
According to the government rate, the price of each bandroll is 8 taka (64 paisa), and the unscrupulous traders are getting fake bandrolls for 25–30 paisa, so they think it is profitable and continue the business of selling fake bandrolls with low-quality bidis by evading the government’s revenue.
When Ebin and Sujan met the owner of the bidi, Md. Shefaul Islam (Shafir), he said that his business is legitimate, he does not use any fake bandrol, and he said that I am not a big businessman; I produce 30 thousand bidis every month. I sell this beedi wholesale at 12 taka per 25 shalakas, retail at 15 taka, and at the government rate of 18 taka. When asked how he is paying it at 12 taka, no one has anything to say about me doing business the way I do, and I pay VAT of 30 thousand bidis per month. I pay the government 10 thousand rupees as tax.
Meanwhile, his government’s revenue from a bandroll of 30,000 bidis is around 160,000 taka. He is not willing to say anything more about it.
But many bidis are being sold in the market without bandrolls on the ground, which is evading a huge amount of government revenue. Ratan, Asal, Ebin, Sumti, Harini, Salma, and Grameen beedis are available in the market, including low-quality bandrollless beedis and fake bandrolled beedis.
all of which the shopkeepers purchase for 7 or 8 taka and sell for 10 taka. Although all these beedis have fake bandroll stickers on them and rattan beedis do not have any bandroll marks on them, busy ordinary people are drinking them without realizing it.
When Md. Riyadul Islam, Divisional Officer, Customs, Excise, and VAT Department, Dinajpur, was asked about this, he refused to give any information or discuss it, and he even behaved rudely with journalists.
