THE New Nation reported on Saturday that a large number of courier service firms are doing brisk business in the country without license depriving the public exchequer of a substantial amount of revenue in one hand putting the delivery of important parcels, valuables and money at risk on the other. Several hundred courier firms now operate in the country at national level and at local level as the report said pointing out that only 50 firms so far have registered them with the licensing authorities under the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications when a total of 112 courier firms are members of the courier service association. It clearly shows the existence of many more unregistered firms operating without license and even avoiding to become member of the business association.
Some estimates suggest that the government is receiving revenue worth Tk. 50-60 million from the courier firms per year and given the huge number of unregistered firms, the revenue loss seems to be enormous. As it appears the concerned Ministry; which is mandated to oversee the functioning of the courier service is in fact lacking a standard procedural mechanism to give license and check other loopholes.
It is true that the courier service is very prompt to deliver parcels and remittance for which people have almost stopped going to post offices. The cost is also not prohibitive because of overcrowding and competition for clients. Some courier firms even carry furniture and heavy items to inter-district destinations. Some banks are giving quicker money transfer services bringing pressure on courier services to be more competitive. But here the security risks remain on top because many of the firms are not registered to be accountable to a regulatory body. Many firms working in countryside are reportedly involving in unauthorized money transfer and drug and explosive trafficking. The lack of registration and monitoring has left serious issues unattended.
