BGMEA Seeks Easier Bond Services to Boost RMG Sector

A delegation of BGMEA, led by Director Faisal Samad, met with Commissioner Mohammad Hasmat Ali at his office on Monday, to place the request. The delegation included BGMEA Directors Sumaiya Islam and Kazi Mizanur Rahman, according to a press release.

During the meeting, the delegation handed over a letter from BGMEA President Mahmud Hasan Khan to the Customs Commissioner, urging the simplification of customs bond processes and asking for policy assistance for both the Dhaka (South) and Dhaka (North) Bond Commissionerate. The discussion focused on making customs procedures more efficient, faster, and harassment-free to sustain the industry's competitive edge.

The BGMEA directors highlighted several specific areas needing improvement, including-Simplifying the annual audit process for garment exporters, expediting the clearance of back-to-back L/Cs that were not covered by the utilization declaration (UD), maintaining bond registers through the Customs Bond Management System (CBMS) software, avoiding cutting supervision based solely on suspicion without valid reason, simplifying the process of adding HS codes to bond licenses.

The delegation also drew the Commissioner’s attention to several policy support issues, simplifying the process for importing raw materials on a Free of Cost (FOC) basis, eliminating VAT-related harassment for services provided by non-bonded companies (like washing, printing, dyeing, and embroidery) to bonded garment exporters, removing complexities in the supply of goods and services from bonded sub-contracting firms to non-bonded direct exporters and simplifying sub-contracting activities, reports UNB.