The upcoming import policy

The upcoming Import Policy Order for 2021-24 is being drafted at a time when the local economy is struggling to revive from the shock of the still prevailing coronavirus pandemic. The virus-induced global economy also faces the similar reality and on path to frame new trade policies focusing on reviving its economic strength and upending consumers’ fragile buying capacities. As an import policy is an integral part of a country’s trade policy, the commerce ministry of Bangladesh has taken feedbacks from private sector and accommodated those in framing the draft order, as claimed by AHM Shafiquzzaman, additional secretary (Import) to the commerce ministry.

A report published in this newspaper on Thursday states that the upcoming policy is going to be a business friendly document for the country’s economy. The policy will include a set of new sections to facilitate the Ease of Doing Business index of Bangladesh, he added.

According to the report, the proposed policy is said to be increasing transaction time, value and hence the volume of Letters of Credit (L/Cs); plus, it will reduce different fees related to import registration.

The proposed policy will have penalty provisions for any international fraud—like over-invoicing, under-invoicing and misdeclaration — and an increased tenure of import licence from one year to five years.

Other salient features of the upcoming policy include increasing the duration for raw materials import under the bonded warehouse facility from the current four months to six months.

It remains to be seen how the new policy impacts Bangladesh economy positively after it still battles the second wave of the pandemic. The new policy is expected to heal the struggling economy reeling from the effects of the virus.

Tackling trade fraud is of paramount importance as far as establishing a fair trade regime without uneven competition scenario is concerned. We want to see the honest businessmen are not affected in the market for misdeeds of a small group of dishonest importers. The policy in one hand should facilitate the causes of good businesspersons, and discourage errant traders for a better and just economic order.

While customs harassment is a common practice at ports, trade fraud is also another menace for the economy. The customs department often is said to disregard import policy and harass importers for bribes. If the importation process is not made faster and efficient, the import policy alone cannot be a positive business tool for the country’s industrialization.

Around $70 billion worth of annual import contributes to industrialization and job creation to a great extent. Taxpayers’ harassment at ports would only dent and slow the pace of industrialization in the crucial post-covid period.

A recent International Trade Centre (ITC) study says about 53 per cent importers in Bangladesh face non-tariff barriers while importing raw materials and consumer items into Bangladesh. The new IPO is expected to lessen the existing intricacies to a large extent.

A pathway to modernise the existing import rules by the government is a welcome move as the trade policy tool will definitely supplement our efforts to upgrade the status of a developing country in 2026 and effectively help the business community to cope up with the challenges after the post-graduation period.

No country is fully self-sufficient today as it cannot produce everything required by it. The policy should aim at massive industrialization and cut dependence on foreign finished goods.

The massive trade liberalisation measures adopted after 1991 mark a major departure from the relatively protectionist trade policies pursued in earlier years in Bangladesh. The proposed import policy should focus equally on globalisation, improving competitiveness of local industry and adverse balance of payments situation.

Our two major import destinations- China and India- now need to be diversified by private sector to avoid any possible disruption in importing both raw materials and other goods from these sourcing countries.

Bangladesh lags behind its many peer countries in the ranking of Ease of Doing Business Index. Let the new import policy usher in a hope of a turnaround from an orthodox import policy regime to a modern trade policy system.