The Benapole Customs House, which is responsible for ensuring the proper enforcement of laws and regulations related to government revenue collection, has come under scrutiny over a series of allegations involving irregularities, corruption, favouritism and abuse of power.

Businesspeople and সংশ্লিষ্ট stakeholders have alleged that weak oversight, tacit support for customs duty evasion, and alleged collusion among dishonest customs officials, importers and Clearing and Forwarding (C&F) agents are causing the government to lose substantial revenue. At the same time, an influential group is allegedly benefiting financially through these irregularities.

According to Benapole Customs and সংশ্লিষ্ট sources, the customs house recorded a revenue shortfall of Tk 4,731 crore against the revised target set by the National Board of Revenue (NBR) in the 2025–26 fiscal year. Businesspeople claim that declining imports, an increase in customs duty evasion and irregularities in customs management are among the major reasons behind the shortfall.

Fresh concerns have emerged following the detection of an alleged attempt to evade customs duties in a consignment of imitation jewellery imported from India.

According to Benapole Customs sources, Mostafizur Rahman, proprietor of TL Trading in Dhaka’s Chawk Bazar, imported 687 packages of imitation jewellery from India. The consignment had a net weight of 16,854 kilograms. Al Amin Sohag, proprietor of Sohag International Limited and Oriental Trading Centre, reportedly submitted the necessary documents to the customs authorities as the C&F agent representing the importer.

During an inspection based on intelligence information, customs officials allegedly found that the actual import value had been concealed in the declaration. They also found approximately 2,040 kilograms of additional high-duty goods compared with the declared weight.