The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has resumed full-fledged customs assessment to release all types of export-import goods from customs ports in Bangladesh.
The decision has been made following disruptions to supply chain of consumables in the domestic market due to congestion at Chattogram seaport amid the COVID-19 pandemic, officials said.
Importers can release commercial products from Wednesday from all customs ports, including sea, land and airports, during general holidays declared to tackle the spread of coronavirus.
The customs wing of the NBR issued an order on Wednesday, asking all customs houses to resume full official activities during the ongoing lockdown.
With this latest order, clips on customs assessment of commercial goods during shutdown have been undone.
The order, signed by second secretary (customs policy) Mehraj-ul-Alam Shamrat, requested customs commissioners to maintain social distancing as per the guideline of health and family welfare ministry.
During holidays, the customs authorities were conducting assessment on a limited scale for essential goods and other products excepting commercial ones.
A senior customs official said the NBR has resumed its regular customs activities following a request from shipping ministry.
Customs were conducting assessment of 80-per cent goods during lockdown but many importers failed to release goods due to closure of their factories and transport crisis, he added.
Earlier, the Chattogram Port Authority (CPA) offered a waiver of store rent for goods during holidays.
The facility was withdrawn from April 21 as the authorities found many importers using the port as their factory godowns.
CPA director (traffic) Enamul Karim said the release of products from the port has increased in the past two days after the authorities withdrew rent waiver.
On April 21, importers released 2,276 containers from Chattogram port and 2,601 on April 20.
Importers release some 3,496 containers on average per day, Mr Karim cited.
Average delivery went down to 962 containers per day during lockdown, he continued.
However, he said the NBR order will also help ease congestion and importers will be able to take delivery of 1,400 to 1500 containers per day.
Chittagong Customs House commissioner Md Fakhrul Alam said congestion in the port will go by one or two weeks as importers have started releasing goods after exemptions of store rent.
"The release of commercial products was not a big factor for easing congestion as we were conducting assessment of 80-per cent import products," he added.
However, importers have taken delivery of 20-25 per cent of the products that customs have released after assessment during lockdown, Mr Alam mentioned.
It is a real problem in the port as there was no space to unload goods from ships, he went on to say.
The NBR has issued a number of orders following several proposals of the port authorities to allow private off-docks to handle products.
The situation may see some improvement in the next one week as importers have started releasing goods, the commissioner concluded.
Meanwhile, the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry has pleaded with importers to take delivery of their containers from the port on a priority basis.
The importers belong to the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association and the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association.
The request was made on Wednesday as part of a pragmatic move to reduce congestion at the country's premier seaport.
As per the CPA data, the port had 48,175 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) containers on April 15 against its capacity to store 49,018 TEU containers.
In another development, the government has extended the ongoing public holidays up to May 05 amid lockdown.
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