From June 6, any passenger coming from abroad who gives false information about his luggage or brings undeclared goods will have to pay a fine of Tk 50,000 to Tk 1 lakh. And the goods in his luggage will be confiscated in favor of the state. Besides, carrying prohibited goods will face punishment as per existing laws.

As per the new Customs Act-2023 such provision has been made.

On May 30, Chairman of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) Abu Hena Md. This information was revealed in a notification signed by Rahmatul Munim.

Section 154 of the Customs Act states that passengers arriving from abroad must provide information about their luggage to customs. Passengers or crew may make a written or oral declaration to the customs officer about the goods kept in the baggage and must answer the questions of the customs officer. If the passenger fails to provide correct information about the protected goods before baggage search and undeclared goods are found during the search, then the concerned person can be fined by the customs officer from a minimum of 50 thousand to a maximum of 1 lakh taka. Moreover, the goods concerned will be forfeitable.

Incidentally, according to the Customs Act, 1969, if a false declaration is made in respect of goods or if a passenger refuses or fails to answer any question, the passenger may be fined up to three times the value of the goods.