Customs-related irregularities have been uncovered in Bangladesh’s power imports from India’s Adani Group, with officials bending legal procedures to evade significant taxes. Since April 2022, Bangladesh has imported power from Adani’s 1,600MW coal-fired plant in Jharkhand without obtaining necessary tax-exemption orders. No bill of entry has been submitted to customs for these imports, raising concerns. An independent body has been formed to scrutinize the power deal following allegations of inflated tariffs.Â
The customs intelligence team is investigating, but no formal tax exemption has been issued by the National Board of Revenue (NBR). Letters exchanged between the power division and NBR have not yet resolved the issue, and customs officials have expressed reluctance to take action without official orders. It is estimated that around Tk 30 billion in taxes could have been collected had proper procedures been followed. The power import deal bypassed Public Procurement Rules under a special indemnity law.
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