B Mirror Report: Two state-owned oil companies, Petrobangla and Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC), have amassed almost Tk 330 billion in unpaid import tariffs and taxes, severely undermining Bangladesh’s efforts to collect income.

Officials at the National Board of Revenue (NBR) expressed serious concerns over the mounting arrears, which they said are threatening to derail the board’s fiscal targets for the current year.

Beyond the immediate loss of revenue, the scale of the defaults has highlighted deeper weaknesses in financial discipline and governance within the energy sector. Experts warned that if left unchecked, these liabilities could spill over into the broader economy and ultimately burden taxpayers.

The alarming figures were revealed at a high-level coordination meeting held recently at the Chattogram Custom House, attended by Special Envoy to the Chief Adviser Lutfey Siddiqi. Customs officials highlighted that the rapid growth of these arrears is undermining the NBR’s collection targets for the current fiscal year (FY2025-26).

Records presented at the session show that Petrobangla alone accounts for more than Tk 216.90 billion in unpaid duties. These dues are related to liquefied natural gas (LNG) consignments released between 2021 and 2025 without prior payment of mandatory taxes.

Similarly, BPC has defaulted on Tk 116.47 billion in duties on refined petroleum products including diesel, octane, and jet fuel imported through its subsidiaries, Padma, Meghna, and Jamuna oil companies.

Customs officials voiced strong concerns over the long-standing “provisional release” facility extended to state-owned entities, pointing out a stark disparity: private-sector importers must pay all duties before clearance, while public corporations continue to operate on a credit-based system at the expense of the national exchequer.

“The failure to realise these dues is choking the NBR’s annual collection drive and sending a dangerous signal of impunity,” a senior customs official remarked.

Defending their position, a senior Petrobangla official cited chronic liquidity shortages, delayed government subsidies, and large unpaid bills from other state-run entities—particularly power plants and fertiliser factories which reportedly owe the gas utility over Tk 250 billion. He described the situation as a “vicious cycle” of inter-agency defaults.

To address the crisis, the meeting resolved to form a joint verification committee tasked with reconciling the disputed figures and drafting a binding recovery roadmap. Chattogram Customs Commissioner Mohammed Shafi Uddin is expected to oversee the process under direct NBR supervision.

Officials warned that without swift recovery, these ballooning arrears could significantly widen the national budget deficit, disrupt routine import operations at the country’s main seaport, and ultimately shift the financial burden onto ordinary taxpayers.