4 PSI cos' contract may be extended
FE Report | Thursday, 21 August 2008
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has primarily selected four pre-shipment inspection (PSI) companies for extension of their contract period by 16 months.
The tender evaluation committee comprising revenue officials has selected the four companies after scrutinising a number of proposals submitted by them.
The PSI companies are SGS (Bangladesh) Limited, Bureau Veritas BIVAC (Bangladesh) Limited, and Intertek Testing (ITS) Limited and Omic, a new Japan-based company.
Excepting Omic, the three other PSI companies are currently operating in five blocks across the globe for issuance of clean reports of finding (CRF) certificates to most of the importable items. The contract tenure of the three PSI companies is scheduled to expire on August 31.
The NBR officials said the government will be able to obtain the consent of the purchase committee before August 31 to give the companies extension from September 1 next.
Under the new provision, SGS will operate PSI activities in countries under block A and C while Bureau Verites block-B, Intertek block-E and Omic block-D.
During the last eight years, the PSI companies have been assisting the customs department on simplification of import and unloading of goods.
In 1992, the country launched voluntary PSI system and made it mandatory in 2002.
In the first phase, three PSI companies were appointed for three blocks across the world for three years, which was renewed several times up to 2005.
In 2005, four PSI companies were appointed in five blocks across the world for three years.
In March this year, the NBR cancelled licence of Cotecna Inspection SA for alleged irregularities in issuance of CRF certificates.
The tender evaluation committee comprising revenue officials has selected the four companies after scrutinising a number of proposals submitted by them.
The PSI companies are SGS (Bangladesh) Limited, Bureau Veritas BIVAC (Bangladesh) Limited, and Intertek Testing (ITS) Limited and Omic, a new Japan-based company.
Excepting Omic, the three other PSI companies are currently operating in five blocks across the globe for issuance of clean reports of finding (CRF) certificates to most of the importable items. The contract tenure of the three PSI companies is scheduled to expire on August 31.
The NBR officials said the government will be able to obtain the consent of the purchase committee before August 31 to give the companies extension from September 1 next.
Under the new provision, SGS will operate PSI activities in countries under block A and C while Bureau Verites block-B, Intertek block-E and Omic block-D.
During the last eight years, the PSI companies have been assisting the customs department on simplification of import and unloading of goods.
In 1992, the country launched voluntary PSI system and made it mandatory in 2002.
In the first phase, three PSI companies were appointed for three blocks across the world for three years, which was renewed several times up to 2005.
In 2005, four PSI companies were appointed in five blocks across the world for three years.
In March this year, the NBR cancelled licence of Cotecna Inspection SA for alleged irregularities in issuance of CRF certificates.