Country’s jewellery industry is facing setbacks amid abuse of baggage rules, according to an observation by the Bangladesh Jeweller's Association (BAJUS).

Addressing a meeting on Sunday, speakers mentioned that the government is losing ‘huge amounts of revenue’ due to the misuse of baggage rules.

The BAJUS standing committee on anti-smuggling and law enforcement organised the meeting at its head office at Bashundhara City in Panthapath of the capital.

With BAJUS vice president Reponul Hasan in the chair, standing committee chairman Didarul Alam and advisor Ruhul Amin Rasel spoke on the occasion.

BAJUS leaders claimed that passengers arriving from abroad are abusing the baggage rules in most cases by bringing 100 grams of gold ornaments without paying customs duty.

“The jewellery industry is being destroyed due to the misuse of baggage rules. Local artisans are becoming jobless. Besides, the government is being deprived of the foreign currency earned by the blood and sweat of the expatriates,” read the release.

The trade body has urged the government to impose strong surveillance over the ports to take action against gold smuggling amid the dollar crunch.

The trade body formulated a guideline for the purchase, sales, and marketing of the jewellery items in June this year to ensure transparency in the industry.

The original copy of the seller's passport should be photocopied at his own risk. According to the guidelines, photocopies of both sides of the seller's national identity card should be kept at his own risk from the original copy.

Gold must be purchased from the original owner while the carrier should keep the tax payment document (original copy) at the airport in case of a declaration.

BDST: 1931 HRS, DEC 31, 2023
MSK