Medlife Packaging Industries allegedly importing buffalo meat
Al Amin :
Medlife Packaging Industries Ltd has been importing raw materials for the last one year illegally as the company even has no manufacturing units or capital machinery in its factory, according to a probe report of the NBR.
The information was revealed while the NBR started an inquiry about the company over its allegedly importing buffalo meat from neighboring India violating all the existing rules or regulations, an NBR official said.
Meanwhile, without producing any goods, the company has also recently sought a license for a bonded warehouse facility, declaring itself as a hundred per cent export-oriented company—manufacturer of food, beverage, pickles, spices, fruits etc.
As per the company’s declaration, it should have had capital machinery and equipment worth above Tk 9.71 crore but the NBR while investigating found that it has only a salt breaker machine in its factory located in the Savar area, an outskirt of Dhaka, the report showed.
Besides, the NBR investigation did not find any employee in the factory of the Medlife Packaging Industries Ltd, although the company declared to the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) that it has over 282 workers who are involved in manufacturing activities.
Refusing the allegations, the company’s Director Ahosanul Haque Milon told The New Nation, “We have established the factory newly for processing food and beverage items and setting up of all the machineries for this was under process.
Due to the sudden visit of the investigation team, they did not find the machineries. But, now everything is ok.”
“We have already requested the NBR team to revisit the factory but they are yet to be responded to our request,” Milon said. NBR sources said the company imported one tonne of frozen Buffalo meat through Hili Land Port on May 10 without the prior import approval from the Livestock Department.
Scrutinizing all the documents, the customs officials refrained to provide customs clearance to release the goods and formed an investigation committee in this regard.
After visiting the factory, the probe body headed by Deputy Commissioner Abdullah Al Mamun found such irregularities of the company, according to the investigation report.
About the meat import, Dr Mohammad Rezwanul Haque, Director (Admin) of the Livestock Department said, “Import Permission (IP) is a must to import frozen meat. But, they did not follow the rules. So, there is no scope of releasing the goods at the moment.”
Milon, however, said that no IP is needed to import meat for industrial purpose.
“We imported the boneless buffalo meat for the first time to export to Dubai through processing it in the local factory. But the customs officials are not giving customs clearance only for harassing us,” he added.
Finding no way, the company filed a writ in the High Court but the court rejected the petition.
