Ctg Customs Spl Auction
Reconditioned car importers fear loss of Tk300cr business
Star Business Report
Importers of reconditioned cars are fearing a loss of Tk300 crore business as the Chittagong Customs House has opted for a special auction to sell out the vehicles remained unreleased at the country's prime port yard. Expressing their concern over the special auction, the importers urged the government to give them at least two months time for getting the cars released from the port. "The government should give time to the importers before placing the cars in auction," Abdul Haque, the president of the Bangladesh Reconditioned Vehicles Importers and Dealers Association (Barvida), said at a press conference in Dhaka yesterday. "We want immediate intervention from the finance ministry, National Board of Revenue and other concerned government organisations to solve the problem," he added. In a bid to remove port congestion, the Chittagong port customs authority took a move to bring the reconditioned cars to a special auction and published advertisements in different newspapers. The Barvida leader welcomed the move for removing congestion and said on receipt of a letter from Chittagong Customs House on January 28, major portion of the reconditioned cars had been removed from the port. A total of 124 reconditioned cars are being removed from the port everyday, he said, adding if such a pace is continued, shifting all cars from the port will be possible within a short time. "But, as a whole, we fear about sustaining our business, as huge people are showing their interest in buying cars through auction instead of going to the reconditioned sales centres," the Barvida chief said. When asked about the reason behind such port congestion, he blamed on the recent political turmoil. As there are two separate shades to keep the reconditioned cars, he said, stockpiling of such vehicles did not actually cause this congestion. Presently, some 3,000 reconditioned cars valued Tk300crore are now stranded in these two shades.. Pointing to the fact that a total of 1100 equipment like crane, mixer lorry, bulldozer, oil tanker, tractor have been lying at the port yard for a long time, he said if these equipment are removed from the port, the congestion will be eased very shortly. Some 16,000 used cars were imported last year. A total of 300 importers are engaged now in importing reconditioned cars. Md Abdul Hamid Sharif, secretary general, and Md Anwar Hossain, former president of the Barvida were present at the press conference.
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