Bangladesh Bank has asked banks not to open letters of credit for duty-free import of industrial raw materials under bonded warehouse system in favour of the businesspeople who do not have licence or renew them from the Customs Bond Commissionerate. The BB on Monday issued a letter to managing directors and chief executive officers of all banks in line with directions given by the Customs Bond Commissionerate asking them (banks) to take required measures in this regard to tackle duty dodging. A BB official told New Age on Monday that the Customs Bond Commissionerate had issued a letter to the central bank on March 25, requesting it to ensure the government revenue as some banks frequently opened LCs for the duty-free back-to-back imports in favour of some businesspeople who did not have licence. The Customs Bond Commissionerate offered the licence for due-free raw material imports to the businesspeople who use the products to produce export-oriented goods, he said. But, some businesspeople sell the imported raw materials in the local market without using the products to produce the export-oriented goods, the official said. The Customs Bond Commissionerate in its letter said that it had already created a web site in which the list of the licence-holders, who are considered to enjoy the duty-free facility, was attached. The banks should follow the web site before opening the letters of credit for the duty-free imports, the letter said. Besides, the banks will have to issue Proceed Realisation Certificate after ensuring the export worth’s repatriation, the Customs Bond Commissionerate said. The banks give the certificate to the exporters after they repatriate the worth of the exported products to the country, the BB official said. Some banks, however, provide the certificate without ensuring the repatriation worth of the exported products, he said. The Customs Bond Commissionerate earlier suspended a number of licences of the businesspeople as they were found selling the back-to-back imported-products in the local market after enjoying the duty-free facility illegally. For this reason, the Customs Bond Commissionerate has also attached the list of businesspeople with its web site whose licences were earlier cancelled or suspended. The central bank earlier unearthed that some persons patronised by the ruling parties had managed the licence to enjoy the duty-free import although they had not played any role in export-oriented business, the BB official said. ‘After selling the products in the local market, the persons never went for any import again meaning that they did so just to evade the duty’, he said. The central bank will take punitive measures against the banks which will open such type of LCs to facilitate the businesspeople illegally, the central banker said.