The country’s textile and clothing exporters are allegedly facing delays in releasing the imported raw materials from the Chattogram Customs House (CCH) by up to 46 days on different excuses. As a result, the readymade garment (RMG) exporters have to go for costly air shipment or face discount on export receipts due to late shipments, sources said. Leaders of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) and Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) raised the issue in a meeting with National Board of Revenue (NBR) on Monday last. NBR chairman Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan, BGMEA president Dr Rubana Huq, BKMEA acting president Mohammad Hatem and BTMA president Md Ali Khokon, among others, were present in the meeting. Meeting sources said the leaders also raised a number of other issues to address those and help the exporters meet the lead time and avoid costly air shipment or discount. When asked, Mr. Hatem alleged that the exporters were facing delays ranging from 15 days to 46 days in releasing the imported raw materials from the CCH on different excuses, including HS code. Citing a case, he said an imported fabric container was kept on hold for one month which was later released on condition of declaration of cutting and export monitoring. If the imported fabric is released on condition, why it has not been done in the first one or two days, he posed a question, adding that the buyers would not extend the lead time for any reason. “We don’t have any objection if samples of the imported materials are kept and tested. They can penalise us if find any mismatch,” the BKMEA leader said. He also alleged that the main culprits who misused the bonded warehouse facility are not or cannot be identified and punished as they have somehow managed the officials at the bottom level. “But we the real businesses are facing a wide range of harassment in releasing imported raw materials on a number of excuses,” he said. Meeting sources said that the sector leaders also requested the NBR to withdraw the high duty of 58.60 per cent on import of racking system to help the factories set up advanced storage system in the bonded warehouses to ensure compliance. Rack-supported warehouses are advanced storage system that helps preserve maximum products within the shortest spaces separately and locate them easily, they added. They also urged the authorities concerned to allow the yarn and fabric count and composition tolerance limit from 5.0 per cent to 7.0 per cent for imported yarn and fabric and 10 per cent for viscose, meeting sources added.
