Country’s apparel traders seek to retain the manual system alongside automated one until efficient realtime update of export data is ensured in the electronic export mechanism. They noted that the relevant data are not being uploaded instantly by the customs or the central bank after export processing. As such, the exporters fear, fully automated export system could delay shipment of goods. Currently, the central bank is uploading the e-EXP data thrice a day and the mechanism is linked with the customs automated system. Leaders of the apex apparel body, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), made this proposal to the National Board of Revenue (NBR) at a meeting Sunday. The NBR arranged the meeting to discuss the launch of online export system, codenamed e-EXP, to make export procedure speedy and automated. The e-EXP was scheduled to be launched in full swing on February 18, 2015 as the revenue board and the Bangladesh Bank had completed test run. Under the system, authorised dealer banks will upload the export documents on Bangladesh Bank’s foreign-exchange-transaction-monitoring dashboard. The central bank will forward those to the ASYCUDA World System of the Customs after verifying the authenticity of these documents. Customs officials will process bill of export in line with the online data and release the exports for export. BGMEA president Atiqul Islam said they were facing problem in processing export documents smoothly due to absence of realtime update data in customs Asycuda world system. “It has been found that amendment of export data is not available in the system, making the export process lengthy,” he said. He underscored the need for awareness building and training to make exporters familiar with the latest system. Customs officials said BB was yet to launch realtime updating system of the data to send into the customs system Bangladesh Bank joint director Anisur Rahman said tender had already been invited to install the system of real-time update which would be completed shortly. To resolve the problem, the NBR formed a committee headed by the NBR member (customs policy) to prepare a time-bound action plan. At the meeting, NBR chairman Nojibur Rahman said the committee, comprising representatives from the NBR, BGMEA, BKMEA and Bangladesh Bank, would work out its action plan within a week. Currently, e-L/C system is in full-scale operation, making L/C opening transparent. Meanwhile, the NBR held another meeting Sunday with the facilitators of the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). The NBR chairman chaired the meeting that discussed settlement of unresolved court cases of income tax, VAT and customs wing, involving a hefty amount of Tk 280 billion, through ADR. Former adviser of caretaker government Tapan Chowdhury, former NBR member Ali Ahmed, ACI group managing director Anis Ud Dowla and Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) adviser Manzur Ahmed attended the meeting and gave their suggestions for popularizing the system. NBR members Begum Jahan Ara Siddiqui, Kalipada Halder and Khandaker Aminur Rahman also attended the meeting.
Source: https://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2015/03/30/86857
