The government is set to introduce a temporary duty-free bond facility for partial exporters against bank guarantees to enhance export earnings and promote diversification.
The decision was taken at a monthly coordination meeting between the National Board of Revenue and the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority on Tuesday.
There were initiatives and recommendations for a long time to extend bonded warehouse benefits to partial exporters of the country, mainly furniture and agro-processing.
According to a BIDA press release, a gazette notification will soon be issued allowing partial export-oriented industries to access bonded warehouse benefits against 100 per cent bank guarantees.
The facility would be limited to raw materials and components imported solely for export purposes, enabling local industries to remain price-competitive in international markets.
According to the release, the automation of bond services is also progressing, after which manual services will be phased out.
Moreover, the requirement for a Utilisation Declaration has been conditionally relaxed for the delivery of goods or services by licenced warehouse operators to enterprises located in Export Processing Zones or Economic Zones, where payments are made through internal letters of credit in foreign currency.
To ease customs clearance, consignments will now be released even if there is a mismatch between the HS Code and product description declared in the bond license, entitlement sheet, or UD, and those determined by Customs through inspection鈥攑rovided the first four digits of the HS Code match.
Importers, however, must submit an undertaking to update the bond license or UD within 30 days.
The meeting also finalized decisions on 31 other issues aimed at improving the overall investment climate.
BIDA executive chairman Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud Bin Harun said the government was working on policy support mechanisms tailored to genuine investor demands, including bond facilities for partial exporters.
鈥楾hrough coordinated government efforts, this will soon be implemented, enabling domestic industries that rely on imported raw materials to export at competitive prices,鈥� he added.
He expressed hope that the move would accelerate export diversification beyond the RMG sector while attracting both local and foreign investment.
NBR chairman Md Abdur Rahman Khan emphasised rational, investment-friendly reforms, highlighting self-assessment and post-clearance audits to ensure faster clearance of goods from ports. He assured that the NBR would take necessary policy measures to support the initiative.
Officials from the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority, Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority, Public-Private Partnership Authority, Moheshkhali Integrated Development Authority, and the Chittagong Port Authority were also present at the meeting, held at BIDA鈥檚 conference room.
