Stern action should be taken against the country's dishonest businessmen, Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali said at the National Board of Revenue (NBR) headquarters today.

He said one of the responsibilities of customs is to prevent money laundering under the guise of trading. That is why it is very important to increase the capacity of customs officials to fulfil the responsibility, he added.

"I hope customs will pay special attention in this regard," he said at a seminar organised at the NBR headquarters in the capital on the occasion of International Customs Day.

He also said one of the main functions of customs is to facilitate trade. In line with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's aim of building a Smart Bangladesh, customs will become truly smart, he added.

"The cost of import and export should be reduced, and this is why we have to focus on full automation," he said.

He also said, "Although Bangladesh has made tremendous progress in all economic indicators, our tax-GDP ratio is still not satisfactory. I hope the NBR will try to increase the tax-GDP ratio."

He urged the NBR to give incentives to honest businessmen who respect the law.

Abu Hena Rahmatul Muneem, chairman of NBR, said Bangladesh earns revenue at a very low cost compared to neighbouring or countries at a similar stage of development.

"Still, we need to invest more in capacity building of its [NBR] officials. Then the amount of revenue collection will increase further," he said.

That would need more investment, and so the government should be open to it, he said.

Masud Sadiq, member of customs policy at the NBR, said, "It is very necessary to reform and modernise the concerned departments, agencies and the NBR, especially Bangladesh Customs, in order to achieve the goal of turning Bangladesh into a developed country by 2041."