NBR proposes transit fees for Indian goods

The National Board of Revenue has proposed Tk 580 as customs fee for transit or transhipment of each tonne of Indian goods through Bangladesh.

The tax administrator made the proposal at an inter-ministerial meeting to fix the transit fees, at the shipping ministry on Wednesday, an official of the ministry said.

India will transport goods through Bangladesh to its northeastern states, he said.

The transit fees and other related matters will be finalised in the meeting of Bangladesh-India joint technical committee.

India laid emphasis on some of the 22 deals on transit through river, road and railways that were signed during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Bangladesh in the first week of June.

As a follow-up to the visit, Bangladesh called upon India to hold the joint meeting from August 16 to 20 and requested them to send the names of the participants of the meeting.

India has sent the names, but did not confirm when the meeting will be held, the shipping ministry official said.

The NBR also proposed taking bank guarantee from India equal to the value of the goods to be transported through Bangladesh.

At the entry point, the carriers will have to provide security in the form of “continuous and unconditional bank guarantee”, which needs to be acceptable to the relevant customs authorities in Bangladesh.

Representative from the bridges and roads divisions, and the environment and shipping ministries were also present at the meeting and they were asked to submit their proposals on the transit fees formally.

The government will fix the fees after taking proposals from other ministries, an official of the NBR said.

The meeting was told that the charges have to be beneficial to both the neighbours and high fees will discourage Indian businesses to use the route.

In the meeting, officials of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority and ship owners said around 20 lakh tonnes of Indian goods may be transported through the river routes every year. The transhipment will also create an opportunity for the private ship owners to earn more, according to the water transport authority.