ACC Uncovers Evidence of Revenue Evasion at Tejgaon Registration Complex

Bangla Press Desk:  The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has found preliminary evidence of tax evasion involving the registration of valuable residential land as agricultural land at the Tejgaon Sub-Registry Office in Dhaka.

An ACC enforcement team conducted an operation at the Tejgaon Registration Complex on Sunday following allegations of irregularities and corruption in land registration.

ACC Assistant Director Al Amin, who took part in the operation, said the team found significant discrepancies between the values stated in agreements for sale and the final registration deeds.

He said an agreement for sale had mentioned a land value of more than Tk 30 million, but the value was reduced to around Tk 16 million in the final registration deed.

The team also found allegations that residential or homestead land had been shown as agricultural land during registration, allegedly allowing the parties involved to evade a substantial amount of government revenue.

“The operation was conducted based on specific allegations. We found major discrepancies between the values mentioned in the agreement and final registration deed,” Mr Al Amin said.

The ACC team collected and seized relevant land deeds and other records during the operation for further examination.

The commission also found irregularities in the way the registration complex provides services to ordinary clients.

Mr Al Amin said members of the enforcement team visited the complex posing as ordinary service seekers and observed that deed writers, copyists and officials were not wearing prescribed uniforms or displaying identification cards.

Instead, they were allegedly approaching clients in plain clothes and demanding additional charges at arbitrary rates.

Although a citizen charter was displayed at the office, there was little evidence of its implementation, he said.

The ACC will scrutinise the collected documents and records and submit a detailed report to the commission, according to the official.

The registration complex reportedly registers around 500-600 deeds every day. Allegations have also been raised that Tk 2.0-2.5 million is collected daily as bribes and distributed among brokers, peons, office assistants, deed writers, extra deed writers and copyists.

There were further allegations that fake mutation records and other forged documents were being prepared to facilitate land registration.

District Registrar Shafiqul Islam said action would be taken if any written complaint was received and an investigation found involvement of officials or employees.

He also said allegations concerning brokers would be examined and action taken if proven.