Govt to set up automated DEDO

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Doulot Akter Mala
The government has decided to set up an automated duty exemption and drawback office (DEDO) aiming to reduce time on collection of bill of entry from the customs house across the country.
The decision was taken at a meeting, chaired by DEDO director general (DG) Nasir Uddin.
"Collection of DEDO copy of bills of entry is one of the major hassles that often takes a long time. We have decided to collect the copy directly from the customs house online," said the DEDO DG.
The DEDO usually writes letter to the customs house to send a copy of bill of entry as a document to examine eligibility of duty drawback.
It takes at least one month to get the copy from respective customs house due to procedural delay, Mr Nasir said.
The decision was taken to mainly simplify the duty exemption and drawback systems. Earlier, a sub-committee of the Regulatory Reforms Commission (RRC) also proposed to simplify the duty exemption and drawback system.
"The DEDO has decided to request the Chittagong customs house and IT department of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) to send the bill of entry online and include shipped on board through ASYCUDDA++ system," he said.
The automation will be introduced gradually to expedite the DEDO activities. In the first phase, the authorities will prioritise the collection of bills of entry, he said.
The DEDO is also trying to stop misuse of duty exemption facilities offered to the export-oriented business sectors, he said.
"The number of allegations of misuse of the duty drawback facilities has declined significantly following strict monitoring of the office," he added.
There is huge scope for improvement in DEDO operation under the existing system, the DEDO DG said.
"The DEDO is holding a series of meetings with all stakeholders, businesses and exporters to resolve confusions over the duty drawback system," he said.
A businessman could claim duty drawback or duty exemption facility within six months of exporting an item for which he has paid taxes for production of raw materials.
The businesses could also claim duty exemption or drawback on the amount paid on utilities or fuel consumption for production of exportable goods.
The DEDO office is responsible for administering the duty exemption and drawback facility.
For the current fiscal, the government allocated Tk 1.75 billion for the DEDO office to give duty refund to the exporters. Of the amount, the DEDO has disbursed Tk 135 million until October last.