Businesses seek govt policy support to face challenges

---

FE Report
President of International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Bangladesh Mahbubur Rahman has sought policy support from the government as the business community is facing enormous challenges due to inconsistent policies, socio-political development and stiff competition in the international market.
"With the support from the government, the businesses will be able to overcome such difficulties and contribute their share to the economy in a much more dynamic way." he said while addressing a gathering at a city hotel Saturday.
The ICC-B president was speaking at a function of Bangladesh Indenting Agents Association (BIAA) on the occasion of its 30 years celebration.
Mr Mahbubur said business in Bangladesh has not been easy as the community has been facing enormous challenges to get things in order and make business smooth.
"We face problems due mainly to inconsistent policies of the governments and socio-political development and also for stiff competition in the international market."
The ICC-B president urged the government to formulate business-friendly policies which in turn would safeguard the interest of the
businesses.
Mr Mahbubur said talks on public private partnership (PPP) should not be rhetoric. "We should mean business in real sense when we talk about PPP framework."
"There should be such a policy on PPP so that the private sector can join the framework willingly. And it should be open to all so that anyone can make contribution."
He favoured the introduction of Regulatory Reforms Commission (RRC) in the country. "RRC was formed for updating the century-old rules and regulations of the country to infuse dynamism into governance, administration and economy."
"It was underpinned by a systemic process of public-private dialogue and supported by Bangladesh Better Business Forum (BBBF)."
He said the RRC and BBBF over the last one and a half years have initiated a number of positive steps towards business reform and facilitation.
"The government should not only continue the process but also further strengthen the system so that the country could reap the benefit."
He also favoured multilateral trade agreement between bigger and smaller countries.
Mr Mahbubur said the indenting agents are contributing substantially to the government exchequer; so they deserve attention of the government agencies.
"The BIAA members might have some grievances in view of the rapid changes in the trade pattern globally and those grievances should be taken into consideration."
He said the content of the draft Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) should be made available to allay the concerns over it.
In his address Commerce Minister Muhammad Faruk Khan said the pre-shipment inspection (PSI) system has not been effective in the country.
"Many trade bodies have said the PSI system has been very ineffective and a huge amount of money is just siphoned off through the system. But we have entrusted the foreign PSI companies as there is a lack of trust on ourselves."
He said: "We have to prepare a strong database if we want to cancel the system as database will be needed for taxation."
On TIFA, the minister said: "We have already made it clear to the USA that we would only sign the agreement if it serves the best interest of the country."
"We still need to discuss some issues," he added.
Mr Faruk said the indenters play a great role in the trade of the country. "Its contribution to the national exchequer is growing day by day."
BIAA President Shabbir Ahmed Khan said the reintroduction of 15 per cent value added tax (VAT) on the indenting commission has made the situation very hard for the indenters to sustain.
"The government should look into the matter and redress the grievance by withdrawing the VAT to help save the sector."
Leaders of different chambers and trade bodies of the country, government officials, foreign dignitaries and former presidents and members of BIAA were present on the occasion.