Al Amin :
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has finally adopted the first-ever off-dock policy to address trade facilitation in line with global trade patterns.
The policy titled ‘Private inland container depots (ICD) and container freight station (CFS) policy-2021’ has been made with clear guidelines on the setting up of private container depots in ports and resolving problems facing the existing investors.
The policy has been made following the emergence of different complexities and inconsistencies between the rules of customs and of shipping ministry on establishing the private ICD.
It also remove the inconsistencies between customs rules on establishment and operation of off-docks issued in 1998 and the office order on private ICD issued in 2016, the stakeholders said.
The policy will bring discipline in trade cargo handling at seaports by private container-depot operators, will expedite goods release procedures and will reduce clogging at ports, they added.
“The policy will help to encourage new investment, bring discipline in application process of investment, obtaining bond licence,” an NBR official said.
Before finalizing the policy, NBR held series of meetings with the ministries of commerce and shipping and other stakeholders.
According the policy, no private ICD can be set up within 20 kilometres of a port perimeter and have to be established in at least 15 acres of land.
The operators, having container scanner, will get extra facility like the concern commissioner will increase the number of imported goods handling on the basis of the NBR’s approval, the policy said.
As per the new policy, the customs officials will have to dispose of application of investment by 30 days.
The policy also incorporates evaluation process and provision of annual audit to ensure transparency in operations of off-docks and approval for product handling would depend on performance of the ICDs after audit. The new keeping a timeline up to 30 days for customs officials to dispose of application of investment.
The size of the CFS would have to be at least one-fifth of the ICD and the off-docks would not be allowed to employ workers below the age of 18, the policy said. Only FCL import containers would be allowed to use off-docks and customs would not allow imported products through LCL containers to use the depots, it said.
Ruhul Amin Sikder, Secretary of the Bangladesh Inland Container Depots Association (BICDA), told The New Nation, “The NBR made first-ever off-dock policy with a clear guidelines to bring transparency in the sector. It is absolutely an admirable initiative.”
The new policy has been made aiming at expanding export trades, easing import trades and ensuring security of the goods.
Currently, there are some 19 ICDs around the Chattogram seaport handling all of the export goods and 38 types of import cargoes.
The country needs more ICDs in keeping with a sharp increase in the number of import-export containers.
