Notwithstanding the mandatory registration with the Department of Textiles (DoT), to legally operate in the country, the Government in October 2018 has reportedly made it mandatory for all apparel and textile units, including subsectors (primary textiles, allied textiles, packaging and accessories manufacturers and buying houses), to be listed with the DoT.
Notably, around 1,632 out of 8,500 apparel manufacturing and textile units have so far registered with the DoT, claimed media reports.
It may be mentioned here that the country’s central bank, the Bangladesh Bank, on 3 September had advised banks to ensure that the legal requirement of having DoT certification is fulfilled before rendering banking services to entities as it underlined that some apparel and textile units and buying houses were doing business violating this provision of the textile law.
As per reports, till August last, 1,632 industrial units, which included 743 readymade garment manufacturing units, 492 textile mills and 397 buying houses have registered with the DoT.
According to official data there are around 8,500 industrial units of which 5,327 are export-oriented garment manufacturing units (knit and woven); 955 garment accessory units; 240 dying, printing and finishing units; 449 specialised textiles and power looms; 425 spinning mills; 796 weaving, knitting and other fabric manufacturing units and 104 terry-towel units.
Bharat Tex Special Report 2026 
