The commerce ministry has formed a five-member committee headed by its Deputy Secretary Fazlur Rahman to find out the persons or groups involved in such forgery.

The committee comprising representatives from customs, Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) and Tariff Commission has been asked to submit its report to the commerce ministry by August 15, ministry sources said.

The Bangladesh mission in Brussels in the last couple of months repeatedly requested the government to probe the allegation of tampering with the GSP certificates.

Moreover, buyers from several European countries have sent back some 16 consignments of garments exported from Bangladesh this year using fake GSP certificates.

"A group of people are involved in such anti-state activities," EPB Vice-chairman Mir Sahabuddin Mohammad told The Daily Star yesterday. He said the forgery is damaging Bangladesh's reputation in the buyers' community.

Bangladeshi readymade garment products enjoy duty-free access to European markets under its Everything But Arms (EBA) scheme. To avail the opportunity exporters need to show the GSP certificate to the European buyers.

]EPB issues the GSP certificate for Bangladeshi exporters. But organised gangs are counterfeiting the certificates to serve the interest of exporters of third country facilitating duty-free export of their products to Europe in the name of Bangladeshi products.

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) President SM Fazlul Haque said Bangladesh is facing losses due to the forgery of GSP certificates as exporters of other countries are utilising the facility illegally.

He urged the government to find out and punish the forgers immediately.