Withdrawal of mark on imported bags demanded

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FE Report
The country's garment accessories makers Tuesday demanded withdrawal of the mandatory rule for printing 'import under bond, not for resale' in all the packages while importing raw materials.
Bangladesh Corrugated Carton and Accessories Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BCCAMEA) made the demand at a meeting with Commerce Minister Faruk Khan at his secretariat in the city.
The government has made it mandatory to mark the bags containing plastic raw materials with the inscription of 'Imported under bond, not for sale' in red applying the punching method.
The importers are required to obtain bank guarantee before unloading imported raw materials at the ports if they cannot have their consignments marked with the writing - a system many importers see as complicated and not conducive for the million dollars backward linkage industry.
The garment accessories makers said the export items are losing competitiveness due to the rule as they have to pay commission, interest and sometimes collateral to obtain bank guarantee, which ultimately increases the cost of the products.
The association said most of the BCCAMEA members are small and medium enterprises and it is very difficult for them to release raw-materials through 100 per cent bank guarantee.
"Obtaining bank guarantee is expensive and ensuring co-lateral is not always possible," said Showkat Ali Khan, secretary of BCCAMEA, at the meeting.
The delegation also urged the minister to recommend to the government for allocating them fund from the state-sponsored stimulus package, which has been earmarked to help the export-oriented industries stave off effects of the global meltdown.
The garment accessories makers also said the bonded warehouse licencee packaging companies should be allowed to sell carton to non-bonded export-oriented industries, which can reduce dependency on imported packing products.
The other demands of the BCCAMEA include setting up of an industrial park and a institute for the accessories industry, commissioning loans from the government's export development fund and integrating the sector as special priority sector into the export policy.