During the tenure of Awami League (AL) government, MPs and ministers imported 52 luxury cars duty-free, which remain unclaimed in the port’s storage yard following the government’s fall.

On Wednesday (Oct 25), the Chattogram Port Authority sent documents to the auction branch of Chattogram Customs to initiate the auction of 18 of these cars, though Customs has yet to announce a specific auction date.

Sources said these 52 vehicles were imported by former MPs and ministers via Chattogram Port, Mongla and Kamalapur ICD. Customs authorities seized the vehicles following the dissolution of the 12th National Parliament on 5 August.

According to NBR records, most of the 52 cars include brands like Toyota Land Cruiser, Land Cruiser Prado, Range Rover, Toyota Jeep, Toyota LC Station, Mercedes Benz, and BMW. These 3346 cc vehicles, imported mainly from Australia, Japan and Singapore, have a standard customs duty rate of 826.6%.

Due to exceeding the 30-day storage period allowed for imported vehicles, Chattogram gong Port Authority has started handing these cars over to Customs for auctioning.

Secretary of Chattogram Port Authority Md Omar Faruk said, “The documents have been sent to Customs House for auctioning, as the 30-day period has expired. Customs will proceed with the next steps. The sooner these cars are auctioned, the better, as it will free up valuable space in our facility for new containers.”