About 350 boxes of Nido powder milk were caught yesterday morning by the Burundi Revenue Authority in boxes marked ‘toothpaste’.-By Diane Uwimana
Frederic Manirambona shows the fraudulent goods in one of the store rooms of the Bujumbura Port ©Iwacu
According to Frederic Manirambona, Commissioner of Customs and Excises in the OBR, the fraud was detected when OBR agents were controlling imported goods piece by piece. “The trans-border goods, at an estimated worth of $2000, always go to the storage rooms of the Port of Bujumbura. These goods arrived on Sunday 2 November. On Monday morning the OBR agents noticed that the toothpaste boxes were not appropriate. They opened the boxes and found that they contain both powder milk and toothpaste”, says Manirambona.
The boxes that were used are meant for car tools. The fraudulent package originated from Tanzanian and was transported by TAQUA Bus. Each box contained 10 boxes of Nido powder milk.
The Commissioner of Customs and Excise mentions that a similar situation was observed three months ago at the Bujumbura Port, when importers tried to mix goods of different categories in one package.
Importers must fill out the clearing form themselves. “When they fill in incorrect information, they should be apprehended”, Manirambona points out.
The owner of the fraudulent goods must now clear his goods in conformity with the law and must pay a fine of 50% of the value of the hidden goods. The guilty party in this case has escaped. “We didn’t see him, but we have got his address”, the Commissioner adds. He calls upon all taxpayers to avoid this behaviour, because once apprehended they will be punished accordingly.
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