The government has planned to establish and improve border infrastructures with financial support from Asian Development Bank (ADB) for reducing the cost and time of cross-border transactions.
ADB will extend financial support for improving the border infrastructure and trade facilitation environment under a $1.5 million technical assistance for the South Asia Sub-regional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) Integrated Trade Facilitation Sector Development Program, said a finance ministry official.
"The programme will help improve Bangladesh's border infrastructure and trade facilitation environment, thereby contributing to the national goals of promoting and diversifying exports," he added.
Under the programme, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) has already started implementing an action plan in line with the Customs Modernization Plan 2019-2022 of Bangladesh.
Implementation of the programme will help speed up clearances, improve compliance, focus essential resources on cargo carrying higher risk, strengthen infrastructure, and lead to better administration of customs laws and regulations, said NBR source.
It will help pre-arrival and paperless processing of transactions at border points and improve inland clearance system, transit and transshipments, said the official.
The border infrastructure will also have facilities such as post-clearance audit, establishment of national single window, expediting shipments, temporary importation systems, expanding the scope of advance rulings and equipping customs laboratories.
"These measures will provide opportunities to enhance trade facilitation sector efficiency and performance, consistent with the objective of the government," the finance ministry official informed.
As customs plays a fundamental role in overall trade management, the NBR is implementing the Customs Modernization Plan 2019-2022. The areas identified for improvement by the action plan include customs classification of goods, valuation, investigation and enforcement, quick clearance of goods, money-laundering inquiry, investigation and prevention, non-intrusive inspection, risk management and analysis of budgetary measures.
The customs officials will be trained to improve service delivery as skilled manpower is important to maximize customs’ investments in new technologies and enhanced processes.
The NBR's action plan also includes training on non-intrusive inspection (Image Analysis) technology, chemical analysis course for chemical laboratory, Electronic Cargo Tracking System (ECTS), and identifying and managing hazardous chemicals.
The Doing Business Survey by the World Bank (WB) shows significant inefficiencies in border operations in Bangladesh and specifically, there is excessive physical examinations of cargo, (almost 100%), manual input of documents, including duplication of documents previously submitted, even though a customs information technology (IT) system exists and little use of pre-lodgment and assessment of customs declaration and associated documents before the cargo arrives at the border post.
The WB said modernization of customs and trade facilitation are essential for Bangladesh in the current competitive trade environment.
