Delhi is bent on executing bond against goods to be transited through Chittagong and Mongla ports to the northeastern Indian states while Dhaka seeks bank guarantee, officials said.
The tradeoff issue is under negotiations as the two sides are working on to finalise an agreement letting India use the two Bangladesh seaports for transiting goods to leapfrog a long haul on a rugged route, they added.
They said execution of a bond would not serve the purpose and that is why the Bangladesh side is pushing for furnishing bank guarantee.
Dhaka and Delhi signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in June 2015 on the use of Chittagong and Mongla seaports for the movement of goods to and from India.
A joint communiqué signed in January 2010 had stated that Bangladesh would allow the use of Chittagong and Mongla ports for movement of goods to and from India through waterways, rail, road, or multimodal modes of transport.
Signing agreement and preparing a standard operational procedure (SOP) are necessary to allow India to use the ports, according to officials.
An inter-ministerial meeting was held early this month at the ministry of shipping (MoS) where a draft of the agreement was discussed.
Meeting sources said the draft prepared by India states that it wants to execute bonds instead of the monetary guaranty as prescribed in the draft of the agreement prepared by Bangladesh.
In the meeting the representative of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) said only signing bank guarantee can serve the purpose since there is monetary involvement with the dealings.
The NBR representative said he would provide board's opinion in writing on this issue.
India has been enjoying transshipment facility formally since last year under the Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade (PIWTT) using Ashuganj river-port.
Under the modalities of transhipment the goods transported from Kolkata are being unloaded at Ashuganj port and later loaded onto Bangladeshi trucks. The goods-laden lorries reach Akhaura border and enter India to deliver the consignments.
India is eager to carry goods using Bangladeshi territory including the seaports to feed its seven-sister states: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura.
With no transit facility in place, Indian vehicles would need to travel 1,650 kilometres to transport goods from Kolkata to Agartala through Guwahati in the landlocked north. But, with the transit facility offered, they need to cross only 350 kilometres if they take a cross-border trip through Bangladesh's Ashuganj port.
E-mail: syful-islam@outlook.com