Over 11 days spent at Ctg customs to get imported goods released  

It takes an average 11 days and six hours at the Chattogram Customs House to get imported goods released from the Chattogram Port after the arrival of a ship.  

A survey has revealed that nearly 75% of the time is taken by importers and their representatives – clearing and forwarding (C&F) agents – to submit necessary documents to the customs authorities. Of the remaining time, 14% is taken by the port authority while 8% is spent on customs-related activities.

It takes seven and a half days at the Dhaka Customs House and more than 10 days at the Benapole Customs House, according to the survey carried out by the National Board of Revenue (NBR).

The findings of the survey titled "Comprehensive Time Release Study", which was conducted in May this year through discussions with various stakeholders of the three customs houses, were presented at a dissemination programme at a Gulshan hotel in the capital on Monday.

A recorded speech of Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal was broadcast on the occasion.

The study was conducted with the support of the World Customs Organisation (WCO) mainly to get an idea about how much time it takes for importers to get their goods released from ports after the arrival of a ship at a port.

Around 90% of the country's total import-export is done through the Chattogram Customs House.

Earlier in 2015, the NBR conducted a Time Release Study (TRS) to assess the performance of the three customs houses.

According to the findings, which were not accepted by the WCO, it took an average of 11 days and nine hours to get imported goods released and about five days for export cargo.

It means no major progress has been made in the clearance of goods at the Chattogram Customs House in the last seven years.

This year's study has been done in a comprehensive way as per the WCO's rules, and it has been accepted, an NBR official told The Business Standard.

This study has not included how long it takes to get clearance for export goods.

This time, it is said that after submitting the bill of entry of the imported goods, there is a condition to submit the hard copy, in which importers' representatives – C&F agents – spend a lot of time.

Convenor of NBR-TRS central committee Abdul Hakim, Joint Commissioner of the Chattogram Customs House Md Tofayel Ahmed presented details about the latest TRS in the programme.

C&F agents blamed the delay in the customs procedure on the servers not working properly at the customs houses.

Business representatives called for identifying the reasons why importers and brokers (mainly C&F agents) spend almost three-quarters of the total time.

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Director Asif Ashraf, who was present at the event, urged the NBR to conduct another study in this regard.

The study report highlighted the importance of automation of the port activities and simplification of the customs clearance process.

Apart from coordinating port activities with customs and other government agencies, and eliminating redundant steps across customs and port processes, there is a recommendation to bring the whole process under automation.

NBR Chairman Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Muneem presided over the event attended by senior revenue officers, representatives of importers and exporters, C&F agents and other related sectors.

The TRS 2022 was conducted by a group of WCO-trained customs officials from the Bangladesh customs with the participation of relevant stakeholders. 

The TRS capacity-building project was funded by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) of the Government of Switzerland through WCO-SECO Global Trade Facilitation Programme.