Holding trade fairs becomes more challenging, costly

The government has introduced several terms and conditions for holding trade fairs in the country, including raising the registration fee, which will likely make putting together such events a challenging affair.

The Commerce Ministry has recently published the “Fair Circular, 2022,” which details various aspects of organising trade fairs in the country.

According to the circular, local trade fairs will incur an additional fee of up to Tk 25,000, whereas international trade fairs will incur an additional fee of up to $1,800.

Since July 1, the new conditions have been in effect, but fairs approved prior to this date will continue to operate.

In the past, the cost of organising a local trade fair was Tk 5,000, while the cost of organising an international trade fair was $200.

Now, Tk 5,000 has been fixed as the fee for local trade fairs lasting 1–5 days, Tk 10,000 for 6–10 days, Tk 15,000 for 11–15 days, Tk 20,000 for 16–20 days, Tk 25,000 for 21–25 days, and Tk 30,000 for 26–30 days.

Similarly, the fees for international trade fairs have increased to $300, $500, $650, $1,000, $1,500, and $2,000 for the same period, respectively.

In addition, it has been stipulated that no trade fairs may be held in the fields of educational institutions.

Among the terms and conditions of organising fairs, separate rules have been made for the three types of fairs—international trade fairs, local trade fairs, and trade fairs.

According to the revised circular, the applicant must submit a trade licence, income tax and VAT payment certificate, fair place allotment, and a copy of the fee invoice to organise the trade fair.

To hold the trade fair at the district level, a letter of no-objection from the deputy commissioner is required.

In the case of local trade fairs outside the metropolitan area of Dhaka, the application must be submitted one month in advance along with the fee.

Except for the Dhaka International Trade Fair (DITF), anyone who wishes to organize a trade fair in Bangladesh must first obtain permission from the Ministry of Commerce. And approval must be requested at least two months in advance.

Trade fairs cannot be extended without the permission of the sanctioning authority for organizing the fair. And if for some reason, it is not possible to organize the fair, one must apply anew and pay the fee anew to organise it at a later date.

Apart from this, no imported or illegal products can be sold at the fairs. Obscene, anti-social and illegal activities cannot be conducted at fairs. Something which can hurt religious feelings, cannot be preached.

The government will revoke the permission of the trade fair if it thinks it will harm domestic products or companies.

In addition to international trade fairs, the circular defines “trade fairs” and “local trade fairs”.

It will be considered an international trade fair, if three or more foreign organisations participate alongside domestic ones.

The term trade fair will refer to any event where goods and services are displayed and sold for commercial purposes, from the village level up to the divisional level.

Local trade fairs, on the other hand, are those that are held with the participation of local businesses or organisations in the country.

However, cultural and heritage fairs can not be called trade fairs, i.e., Baishakhi Mela, Chaitrasankranti Mela, Muharram Mela, Ekushey Book Fair, and Dhaka Book Fair.