Bangladesh authorities unearth tax evasion by Chinese firms
Mar 23, 2022
Dhaka [Bangladesh], March 23 : Chinese companies are reportedly violating local laws in Bangladesh which is leading to loss to the exchequer, a media report said on Tuesday.
This report adds to the already poor image of corporate ethics practised by Chinese firms who are found breaching laws in several countries.
In December 2021, Bangladesh authorities discovered that a Chinese company China Road & Bridge Corporation (CRBC), a subsidiary of China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) engaged in the construction of roads and bridges in Bangladesh was involved in tax evasion while importing construction material for government projects, Bangladesh Live News reported.
It was not the first time that Chinese companies had violated the Bangladeshi laws causing loss to the exchequer.
Earlier in December 2020, the BD revenue authorities had launched an investigation into ZTE Bangladesh, a subsidiary of the Chinese ZTE Corporation with many business operations in different sectors of the country, on the suspicion of tax evasion.
In the latest case, Chittagong customs officials exposed (Feb 2022) that Bangladesh based Chinese company Tianye Outdoor (BD) Co Ltd (TOCL), a subsidiary of Chinese company Comefly Outdoor Co Ltd has been involved in tax evasion and tax fraud to the tune of BD Taka 21 crore and 57 lakh, Bangladesh Live News reported.
TOCL is a Chinese owned company located in Rajshahi Division, Bangladesh and engaged in the production and sale of camping tents, outdoor apparel and other supplies, textile and garment etc. During the routine physical inspection, the BD officials recovered high duty foreign cigarettes from consignments that had been supplied to TOCL though TOCL had declared to ship cotton yarn from China (Desipro Pvt Ltd).
With Bangladesh identifying corrupt Chinese business practices and also deciding to crack down on them, China's Belt and Road ambitions may face a setback.
According to Bangladesh Live News, presently, there are nine active BRI projects in the country.
Meanwhile, the functioning of Chinese companies has been under the scanner in other parts of the world as well as multilateral financial institutions, especially the World Bank. Though China portrays itself as a reliable economic partner, the country's economic partnership appears to be fraught with malpractices, Bangladesh Live News reported.
