DHAKA: A new customs bill is expected to be placed in parliament for passage in the upcoming session in September, NBR Chairman Md Nojibur Rahman said yesterday.
The new law, which will replace the existing Customs Act 1969, has been framed to incorporate international best practices and use of automation in the customs business process, according to the National Board of Revenue.
Rahman’s comments came at the inauguration of a four-day workshop on drafting of the new customs law and the respective best practices. The NBR in association with the Asian Development Bank organised the programme at the capital’s Sonargaon Hotel.
Finance Minister AMA Muhith said he was surprised that customs activities were based on a 46-year-old law.
“I was surprised today to find that we are still working on the basis of a customs law from 1969,” he said at the programme.
He expected that both the practitioners and stakeholders will fix the issues that are currently bothering them.
The Customs Act 2015 has been prepared in light of the Revised Kyoto Convention (RKC), which was adopted in 1999 as the blueprint for modern and efficient customs procedures in the 21st century.
The RKC aims to ensure transparency and predictability of customs actions, standardisation and simplification of goods declaration and supporting documents and maximum use of information technology.
Once implemented widely, it will provide international commerce the predictability and efficiency that modern trade requires, according to WCO.
The new customs law has also been framed in line with Trade Facilitation Agreement at the WTO Ministerial in Bali, Indonesia, said NBR officials.
After the passage in parliament, the latest law will provide an opportunity to stakeholders to place their views and concerns before the customs authority make the rules to implement the law.
The current law authorises the NBR to make rules and place them in parliament.
The proposed law will require an advanced cargo declaration prior to arrival. It also seeks to offer preferential treatment to authorised traders with good compliance records and implement an electronic customs administration, among others.
The NBR said it consulted with the stakeholders while preparing the draft of the new law, which was approved in principle by the cabinet in September last year. A high-powered committee headed by the principal secretary also examined the draft law, said NBR officials.
Abdul Matlub Ahmad, president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry, said the use of risk management-based standard operating procedure for assessment and clearance of goods will benefit the honest traders.
MA Mannan, state minister for finance and planning, said the purpose of the reforms to the customs law is to increase trade and reduce the cost of doing business in Bangladesh.
NBR Chairman Nojibur Rahman said ownership and partnership is important. “It will be difficult to implement the upcoming law without ownership.”
