Al Amin :
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) should expedite the functioning of the Customs Risk Management Commissionerate (CRMC), the newly formed Commissionerate, in order to quick release of goods from the country’s ports.
If the CRMC acts properly, cost of business, production cost, dependency on air cargo will be reduced as well as it will be possible of deliver exported goods timely, according to a survey conducted by the revenue board.
The quick release of goods from the ports will be the most important requirement for the international trades in post-LDC graduation of the country to increase business competitiveness.
“The very high percentage of examination should be phased out gradually from the current 15 per cent to only five per cent within a year by developing and implementing a robust risk management strategy. In this regard, NBR should expedite the functioning of the Customs Risk Management Commissionerate (CRMC) to centralize the selectivity criteria,” the survey said.
It placed separate recommendation for three major ports of the country in line with releasing export-import goods within shortage possible time.
For Benapole port, it recommended for the automated port activities and simplification of the Customs clearance process by addressing the duplication of work.
“Automating the shed management and installing modern loading-unloading equipment at the port can significantly reduce the time taken by port processes and internal workflows of customs should be reassessed to streamline documentary requirements further and reduce duplication of work by reviewing delegations of responsibility and repetitive procedures,” the survey said.
For Chattogram, recommendations mainly focus on coordinating port activities with Customs and OGAs and eliminating redundant steps across Customs and port processes.
“Enhanced integration of CTMS/TOS with the ASYCUDA World can help increase the seamless data flow across the stakeholders and enable the e-submission of documents, reducing person-to-person physical contact,” it said.
“Addressing the needs of non-intrusive inspection (NII) technology-based equipment (such as container scanners) is critical to facilitating trade and ensuring security. NBR should take immediate steps to install at least twelve (12) container scanners in the CTG sea port,” it added.
For Dhaka, recommendations are primarily aimed at improving the port’s cargo handling capacity and implementing the Revised Kyoto Convention compliant risk selectivity module.
“The port authority should adopt new technologies, recruit a skilled workforce, and procure new equipment to improve Biman’s cargo handling efficiency. Attracting private and foreign investment in air cargo handling would help develop the efficiency of Biman,” it said.
Based on the survey findings, and the qualitative data obtained through KIIs and FGDs, this study puts forward the following recommendations to address the bottlenecks and challenges affecting the import clearance process for food, pharmaceuticals, garments raw materials, and capital machineries through the Benapole land port, Chattogram seaport, and Dhaka airport.
The recommendations are categorized into two segments: common recommendations that need to be implemented in all three ports, and specific recommendations that can help improve the concerns of individual ports.
In both cases, recommendations are subcategorized under three broad headings: Process Improvement, Logistics/Capacity Building, and OGA Clearance.
