Bangladeshi exporters' compliance with European Union's regulations, including GSP rules of origin, implementation of REX system and statement on origin, is set to be spot-checked for extended privileged market access.
A delegation from the Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union (DG TAXUD) will visit Bangladesh in November to monitor compliance-related activities in various sectors, sources said.
The team intends to visit factories of major and important export-oriented sectors like textiles, footwear and agriculture, they added.
To retain the generalised system of preferences (GSP) facility, Bangladeshi exporters have to comply with the EU's Registered Exporter (REX) certification system of origin of goods.
The REX system is based on principle of self-certification by exporters, who issue statements on origin (SoO) to themselves and to be entitled to issue statements on origin. The exporters have to be registered in a database by the competent authority of their respective countries.
Under the system, all Bangladeshi exporters have to register with the state-run Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) to export their products to the continental bloc -- the European Union -- Bangladesh's largest export destination for everything but arms or EBA.
After registration with the EPB, the exporters can issue self-declaration certificates on eligibility for duty-free facility, they said, explaining the tricks of the trade.
Asked about the verification drive, EPB director Abu Mukhles Alamgir Hossain said an EU monitoring delegation from DG TAXUD has expressed willingness to review the implementation of REX system, compliance with EU GSP rules of origin, declaration of statement of origin and local value addition.
He says they want to visit Bangladesh next November but the date has yet to be fixed.
"EPB works as competent authority on behalf of Bangladesh government over implementation of the REX system," he told the FE, adding that exporters who ship goods directly to the EU are registered with the system.
"Some 4,300 exporters have so far registered with the system since the introduction of the system in 2019," he mentions.
The REX system is applicable to the EU GSP beneficiary countries, and the EU notified Bangladesh about it in 2017, sources said.
The main purposes of introducing the fully online system are to allow the exporters to issue self-declaration on statement on origin, to bring them under a competent authority's registration, and to ensure transparency and accountability in export process through monitoring, they added.
The EPB in a letter on September 14 asked relevant trade bodies, including Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA), Bangladesh Terry Towel and Linen Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BTTLMEA), Leathergoods and Footwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association Bangladesh, Bangladesh Agro-processors Association, Bangladesh Frozen Foods Exporters Association and Bangladesh Fruits, Vegetables and Allied Products Exporters' Association, to submit SoO regularly to the EPB's export tracker and strengthen monitoring their respective member-factories.
Currently, Bangladesh enjoys duty-free facility in exporting goods to the EU under its EBA (everything but arms) scheme. More than 60 per cent of Bangladeshi goods are exported to the EU.
Shipments from the country fetched US$48.28 billion in total export earnings in the just- concluded fiscal year, 2024-25, according to official data.
Munni_fe@yahoo.com
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