Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association has called for streamlining customs procedures, particularly the inclusion of new raw materials and accessories under bond licences, to maintain competitiveness in apparel exports.
In a meeting with the Customs Bond Commissionerate (Dhaka North), BGMEA demanded faster, simpler, and transparent processes for audits, bond register maintenance, free-of-cost imports, and access for non-bonded exporters. They also opposed unnecessary “cutting supervision” of duty-free imports.
Exporters complain of delays and extra costs when adding new HS codes to licences, while authorities allege misuse of bonded imports in the domestic market. BGMEA proposed reactivating a joint working committee to resolve such issues.
Customs officials assured ongoing efforts to automate the bond system and make services more business-friendly.
