The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has urged the National Board of Revenue (NBR) to simplify customs procedures for the apparel industry and ensure a harassment-free business environment.
The revenue authority announced that such consultations will now take place on the second Wednesday of every month to hear concerns directly from businesses. NBR Chairman Md. Abdur Rahman Khan presided over the session.
Representing the apparel sector, BGMEA Vice President Md. Shehab Udduza Chowdhury stressed that the garment industry is under mounting pressure from both global and domestic challenges. “If export-import procedures are not simplified and made free of harassment, sustaining this vital sector will be difficult,” he said. BGMEA Director Sumaiya Islam Rozalin was also present at the event.
Trade leaders from FBCCI, MCCI, BCI and other business chambers and associations joined the discussion.
BGMEA submitted a set of proposals to the NBR to address bottlenecks affecting garment exports, including:
Allowing local back-to-back LCs for non-bonded companies and removing the bond license requirement when supplying goods from a bonded exporter to a non-bonded direct exporter, streamlining the process for importing raw materials received free of charge, granting approval and VAT exemption for non-bonded firms when outsourcing services such as washing, printing, dyeing and embroidery to bonded units, making subcontracting in the garment sector more efficient, revising the official wastage rate for woven garment production to reflect actual industry practices, eliminating complications in adding HS Codes to bond licenses and addressing ASYCUDA server-related disruptions to accelerate export clearance.
BGMEA leaders welcomed the NBR’s initiative for monthly consultations, expressing hope that regular dialogue will help resolve long-standing issues facing the country’s largest export-earning sector.
