Banks can now remit shipment tracking charges without BB approval
The Bangladesh Bank issued a circular to this end in order to ease the country’s foreign trade
Banks can now remit shipment tracking charges without the approval of the central bank – in a move to further ease the country's foreign trade.
From now on, for import payment, banks will have to take confirmation about whether the goods are on board or not. So, the lenders will need to pay charges to foreign agencies to track shipments.
"We are going to allow shipment tracking on exports soon. So, we have issued a general instruction for authorised dealer banks to remit shipment tracking charges without the approval of the central bank," a central bank official told The Business Standard.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
The official said banks sometimes hesitate to get approval for shipment tracking charges. "For that reason, they frequently receive shipment tracking services free of cost from unauthorised agencies. However, they are not so reliable."
The Bangladesh Bank, in a circular on Sunday also said, "To economise on transaction costs, authorised dealers [ADs] may establish tie-up arrangements with other ADs who have arrangements with shipment tracking service providers abroad – to receive those particular services."
Payments between them will be settled in taka, it added.
