Despite court order, Ctg Custom keeps importer’s pink salt cargo stranded for nearly two months

Infographic: TBS

A High Court order directing Custom House, Chattogram (CHC) to release an imported raw material consignment within seven days has gone unimplemented for more than one and a half months, leaving the importer burdened with storage and shipping charges that have risen to nearly twice the value of the shipment.

On 21 May, the court ordered the release of the shipment within the timeframe after receiving its order. Chattogram-based food processor Warda & Jubayer Agro Industry Ltd imported it, according to documents obtained by TBS.

The shipment arrived at the Chattogram Port more than two months ago and has been stranded since then, forcing the importer to incur extra storage and shipping charges while his factory has been struggling with raw material shortages.

Pink salt, also known as rock salt, is widely used for food preservation. In recent years, demand for pink salt has increased sharply, driven by consumer perceptions of its health benefits.

According to the custom data, 4800 tonnes of pink salt have been imported between May 2025 and May 2026.

Yasir Arafat established the company in Boalkhali Upazila of Chattogram to process frozen food and snacks using imported mineral-rich rock salt and Himalayan pink salt as ingredients.

The factory employs around 50 workers and operates with approvals from authorities, including the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority. Bida has also approved an annual import entitlement of 700 tonnes of rock salt for the factory.

According to Yasir, they imported around 186 tonnes of rock and pink salt over the past two years through the port without major complications. The custom usually releases each shipment within five to 10 days.

That changed after the company's latest import in May this year.

The factory imported a 28-tonne consignment of rock salt from Pakistan and submitted a Bill of Entry on 4 May.

Despite submitting the required documents, as with earlier consignments, the container remained stuck at the port, forcing the importer to file a writ petition with the High Court on 20 May.

After hearing on 21 May, the court ordered the customs authorities to release. However, customs received the order on 1 June.

On 23 May, customs issued a letter signed by Assistant Commissioner Towhida Islam and sent it through the post office on 1 June stating that the consignment could not be released without a No Objection Certificate from the Ministry of Industries. instead of releasing the cargo, customs introduced this new requirement.

The importer received the letter on 7 June, a month after the submission of the Bill of Entry and 16 days after the court order. However, every day's delay was costing the importer around Tk40,000 in port charges and shipping demurrage.

The letter mentioned that the importer failed to submit the required entitlement from the ministry and industrial salt used as a raw material can only be imported by genuine industrial users within entitlement limits as per the Import Policy Order 2021-24 and the National Salt Policy 2022.

The importer disputes that interpretation.

Yasir argues that his shipment consists of mineral-rich rock salt classified under HS Code 2501.00.30, not industrial salts such as sodium sulphate, sodium chloride or disodium sulphate covered under Chapters 28 and 29 of the National Salt Policy.

He maintains that the Import Policy Order expressly permits the import of mineral-rich rock salt and that Bangladesh does not produce the product domestically.

"I have imported seven consignments in the last two years. Custom authorities never asked for an NOC from the ministry. Assistant Commissioner Towhida Islam was the same officer-in-charge of the unit that cleared two of my earlier consignments without asking for an NOC," Yasir said.

"If the Ministry of Industries' NOC was legally mandatory, why did Customs never ask for it while clearing my previous consignments?" Yasir remarked.

"They have not been able to show me any government order, gazette notification or statutory instruction making such an NOC compulsory."

TBS reviewed customs documents showing that two identical consignments imported by the same company in January were cleared without requiring a Ministry of Industries' NOC.

When asked about assessing and clearing pink salt earlier, Towhida told TBS, "After I joined this unit, I did not clear any consignment of pink salt without an NOC because the law and policy made it mandatory. I am not responsible for what happened before my joining."

However, according to documents reviewed by The Business Standard, Towhida was posted as an assistant commissioner at Taxation Section-2 of Chattogram Custom House on 6 December 2025. Although, she was transferred from the post on 7 April this year, just five months after her joining, despite the transfer, she continues to serve in the same post.

The importer's lawyer, Mohiuddin Ahmed, served a contempt notice on Towhida on 11 June.

In her reply dated 16 June, she said the government had filed an appeal against the court's order on 15 June.

Court documents reviewed by TBS show the leave-to-appeal petition was filed on 15 June, around two weeks after customs received the High Court order directing release of the goods.

"The High Court specifically ordered the authorities to release the consignment within seven days, not seven working days," lawyer Mohiuddin Ahmed said.

"Every day's delay translates into financial losses for the importer. So, not implementing the order is tantamount to contempt of court", he clarified.

However, on 2 July, the Appellate Division disposed of the appeal without granting any stay order. Instead, it directed that the petition be heard by the appropriate High Court bench.

On 7 July, representatives from the importer again visited Chattogram Custom House to submit the certified copy of the Appellate Division's order along with a letter addressed to the customs commissioner.

The importer alleged that officials concerned initially refused to receive the documents.

When contacted, customs spokesperson Sharif Al Amin said, "It is their duty to receive letters and forward them to the appropriate officer."

Delay increases cost

Port tariff calculations show that storage charges, including VAT and ancillary fees, reached Tk7,29,540 during that period.

Moreover, the importer has incurred 53 days of shipping demurrage, amounting to nearly Tk570,000, at the contractual rate of $80 per day.

Combined, storage and shipping charges have crossed Tk12.9 lakh, excluding over 93% custom duty and VAT payable on the goods.

The shipment itself is valued at nearly Tk7,95,000.

Once legal expenses are added, the importer estimates that the total financial loss will exceed twice the value of the imported goods.

Yasir says the prolonged detention has disrupted production, delayed deliveries and created uncertainty for the factory's 50 workers.

The newspaper sent a detailed questionnaire to Custom House Commissioner Mahbubur Rahman and Assistant Commissioner Towhida Islam through e-mail and WhatsApp message last week, seeking explanations on the overall issues.

As of last night, customs did not respond to the queries.

Customs spokesman Sharif told TBS, "An ambiguity in the Import Policy Order regarding rock salt has created confusion, and the matter has now reached the National Board of Revenue (NBR) and the Attorney General's Office."

"Once the ambiguity is resolved, the issue will be settled," he said.

However, he ignored responding to the court order.

Mohammed Amirul Haque, president of the Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said, "If you protest, you will be finished. The system has made Custom officials so influential that if you speak out against them, they can make it impossible for you to do business in Bangladesh."

He called for installing CCTV cameras in all government offices to improve transparency, curb corruption and reduce harassment.

The case is not an isolated incident.

Documents reviewed by The Business Standard show that at least five other consignments were held up by the same customs unit under the same officials during the April-June period.

Among them was a 22-tonne consignment of black salt imported by Bombay Sweets & Co Ltd, one of the country's leading food producers.

The shipment, imported under the same HS code, remained at Chattogram Port for nearly two months before being released. Customs received the Bill of Entry on 21 April, but the consignment was not cleared until 14 June.