November 12: Leather manufacturers have accused the Birgunj Dry Port Customs of clearing the leather banned by the government. One container of leather, which had passed the customs clearance and was being prepared for customs transit declaration (CTD), has been stopped.

The customs officials stopped the container belonging to Annapurna Leather Tanning Industries backed by Chinese investment in the Bara-Parsa Industrial Corridor after a dispute arose over the difference in HS code and the product. The customs had written to the railway service provider not to load the leather following the dispute.

One container of leather prepared for loading on the train was stopped by the customs after local stakeholders raised the issue of exporting banned leather. The leather was shown to the officials of the Nepal Leather Tanners Association by unloading the skin again after the customs had already prepared the CTD and put it in the container.

The customs had issued CTD by placing a seal of OOL EVJ 7786 in a 40-foot container loaded with leather (OOCU 8546302). Customs Chief Lal Bahadur Khatri said that the investigation was initiated after the stakeholders raised the issue.

Khatri said that leather samples were shown by calling the leather manufacturers. He said the leather was different from the HS code mentioned in the declaration and could not be exported.

The customs officials called the vice president of the association Javed Nabi Iraqi, general secretary Mohammad Junaid Iftekhar, treasurer Manoj Chachan, representative of Everest Leather Binod Chaudhary, and other industrialists at the customs and showed them the skin samples. The industrialists had suggested testing the skin samples saying that the skin checked by the customs did not match with the HS code.

The government has banned the export of such skins. According to the head of the customs, Khatri, they had only inspected the documents because export of leather falls under the green category.

The customs officials claim that the leather code and product being exported were different. The leather was being sent to Indonesia by providing wrong details.

The product was labeled HS code 4101900000 referring it to be ‘Split Buffalo Leather’. However, the code is used for exporting raw, salted, dried, lime-cleaned leather which is banned by the government. 

It has been revealed that the industry had exported such leather earlier as well by submitting false details.

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