Promised turning of one-stop service (OSS) window of Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) into a single gateway to investors has slowed with majority services still missing out, officials said.
Until last year, the investment-promotion agency had signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) with over 40 public-and private-sector organisations aiming to bring nearly 150 services of theirs onto the OSS platform.
However, only 47 services of 22 organisations have so far been added to the OSS facility since it was launched in February 2019.
Many of the organisations that signed MoU deals with the BIDA have yet to have a single service placed on the OSS platform while some of them have only a few.
A recent meeting at the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), with Principal Secretary Mohammad Tofazzel Hossain Miah in the chair, reviewed the updates about the OSS platform and emphasised taking necessary measures to turn the platform into a single- point entry for both the local and foreign investors, the sources said.
Meeting proceedings show that none of the services of the Directorate of Registration, Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited (BTCL), Jalalabad Gas Transmission and Distribution System Limited, Department of Immigration and Passports, Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments, Export Promotion Bureau, Department of Explosives, Office of the Chief Inspector of Boilers, Bangladesh Bank, Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Foreign Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dhaka, have boarded the platform to offer services to investors.
The meeting asked the Directorate of Registration to submit a time-bound plan to BIDA regarding adding its services to the platform. The managing director of BTCL informed the meeting that the services listed in the MoU are now being provided online and so can be available on the OSS platform within next two months.
According to officials concerned, four of the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms (RJSC)-listed 11 services in the MoU are so far placed on the OSS platform.
Services like certificate of commencement of business, approval for articles of association, approval for memorandum of association, share transfer, amendment of memorandum/articles of association, changing directors, and raising authorised capital still remained out of the platform.
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has so far added three services out of seven listed in the MoU, while four services-customs-related release certificate, refund of duty/tax, utilisation permit, and bond licence-are still lacking.
Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC), Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC), and Chittagong City Corporation added one service-the issuance of bond licence -from MoU. Renewal of trade licence has yet to be added.
Sonali Bank's two services are on the OSS platform while one more service-opening bank account online by foreign investors-has yet to be put in the BIDA basket.
The Office of the Chief Controller of Imports and Exports so far added half of the four services out of four it is supposed to include. The Ministry of Land so far added one service out of four.
Also in case of Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha, one service is available while services like approval for special projects, building construction, and residency certificate are yet to be added. Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defence so far added two services to the platform while three more were yet to be included.
Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (DWASA) has yet to place its four more service onto BIDA's OSS platform, after adding only one. Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) so far added one service while services like providing certificate of origin and membership certificate are missing out.
Participants in the PMO meeting also noted that although 47 services of 22 organisations were placed on the OSS platform, taking services by using the platform in case of services provided by the other organisations "is very minimal".
Until now, only 606 applications of 10 organisations have been submitted through the OSS platform while, at the same time, 111,748 applications submitted for the services provided by the BIDA.
The meeting decided that the websites of the organisations which have signed on MoU with the BIDA "should carry a link of the OSS platform so that the investors can submit applications from there using the platform".
A senior official who attended the meeting told the FE that the PMO would now "regularly monitor the progress on the OSS platform and its use so that the investors can get services without any hindrance".
© 2024 - All Rights with The Financial Express
