Traders seek customs reforms to cut clearance delays

Business leaders have urged the National Board of Revenue (NBR) to simplify customs procedures, alleging that repeated inspections, laboratory testing and lengthy verification processes are delaying cargo clearance by up to a week or more, driving up business costs and eroding the competitiveness of local industries.

However, customs officials rejected the traders' claims, saying it would be unfair to blame physical inspections and laboratory tests for delays in cargo clearance without supporting evidence.

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The Chittagong Chamber of Commerce & Industry made the call today in a letter to Ahsan Habib, acting secretary of the Internal Resources Division and acting chairman of the NBR.

In the letter, Mohammad Amirul Haque, president of the Chittagong Chamber, said the business community expects reforms that would facilitate trade and improve the ease of doing business.

The letter referred to Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury's recent directive to complete customs assessment and release imported goods within four days to reduce logistics costs and ease congestion at Chattogram Port.

However, traders alleged that the directive has yet to be effectively implemented because of unnecessary procedural delays, poor coordination among government agencies and a lack of cooperation from some customs officials.

According to the letter, importers are still subjected to repeated inspections by multiple agencies, physical examinations even after container scanning, delays in laboratory testing and prolonged verification of certificates of origin, resulting in customs clearance taking seven to eight days or even longer in some cases.

The organisation also claimed that repeated physical inspections during adverse weather conditions often damage imported goods, while additional storage charges, testing fees and documentation costs further increase the cost of doing business.

The traders urged the NBR to fully implement trade-facilitation measures under the Customs Act 2023, including paperless customs, pre-arrival processing and risk-based examinations, to ensure quicker cargo release and reduce costs for businesses.

Seeking anonymity, a senior official of Chattogram Custom House told The Daily Star that only 6.5 to 7 percent of imported consignments are selected for physical inspection.

"Of the consignments subjected to physical examination, nearly 61 percent were found to have false declarations," the official said.

Laboratory testing is mandatory for a range of imported goods, including food products, under the Import Policy Order, which also specifies the designated laboratories for such tests. In addition, customs may require laboratory tests for consignments suspected of being falsely declared.

"Laboratory reports take several days to be issued. However, importers can obtain the release of their consignments immediately by submitting a bank guarantee while awaiting the test results," according to the official.