Six container scanners to be installed at ports

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) is going install six modern container scanners at Chittagong Port and two other land ports with the aim to facilitate export-import trade.

The NBR will install the modern container scanners in order to boost inspection of export and import consignments and curb evasion of duties through false declarations, said a press release.

In this regard, the NBR signed an agreement with Nuctech Company Limited, a Chinese partially state-owned security inspection products company, on Wednesday at NBR building at Shegunbagicha in the capital.

According to the release, these six fixed container scanners will be added to the existing 10 scanners of Bangladesh Customs. Of the existing scanners, six are old-fashioned fixed container scanners and the rest are mobile container scanners which have low penetration capabilities.

“The new scanners will be more capable of penetration. The country will get the benefits within the next eight months in many ways, including the capacity enhancement in export and import trade, smuggling prevention, public health preservation, and reduction of the country’s security threats,” said the press release.

Of the six new scanners, four will be installed at Chittagong Port, one at Benapole Port, and the last one at Bhomra Port. After installing the new scanners, the central imaging system will be introduced so that the NBR can observe and monitor from the Dhaka office, the release said, adding that the Customs Risk Management Commissionerate and Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate will be more capable of risk management through using the real-time images.

According to the Comprehensive Time Release Study-2022 conducted with the support of the World Customs Organisation and Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, the major portion of customs’ time is spent on the manual examination of imported goods. The new scanners will solve the difficulty permanently.

At times, different countries seek scanned images during export trade and the issue will be fully solved through this initiative.

NBR Chairman Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Muneem presided over the agreement-signing event.

Abdul Mannan Shikder, NBR member (customs audit, modernisation and international trade), and Hou Wenyi from Nuctech Company Limited signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organisations.