Govt to introduce EU-compliant GSP certificate to check fraud
Monday, 31 December 2007
Naim-Ul-Karim
The government will introduce European Union (EU) compliant Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) certificate from the beginning of 2008 tomorrow to prevent fraud and forgeries in use of the same.
Sources said the government planned to introduce the fully EU-compliant GSP certificates after some member states of European Commission (EC) threatened to drop Bangladesh from the list of beneficiary countries on the ground of chronic fraud and forgeries.
They said the state agency--Export Promotion Bureau (EPB)--has already completed necessary groundwork to issue the new GSP certificates in line with the EU prescribed guidelines.
"Our supplier has already provided us new GSP certificate forms made of special security paper in Germany," Khalilur Rahman, director general of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), told the FE Sunday.
Rahman also convener of a government committee, formed to investigate the GSP certificate forgeries, said they are scrutinising some certificates sent to them for verification by several EU countries.
The government formed the committee in October last to investigate whether the fraud and forgeries in issuance of the GSP certificates were carried out within or outside the country, sources said.
They said RMG exporters of some native countries for enjoying the GSP facility engaged with such fraud and forgeries.
Sources also said the government tightened the processing of applications for GSP in an attempt to stem continued forgery by parties from third countries after October last.
When contacted, some leaders of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) hailed the introduction of new GSP certificate and expressed the hope that this will help check the bad practice.
The government will introduce European Union (EU) compliant Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) certificate from the beginning of 2008 tomorrow to prevent fraud and forgeries in use of the same.
Sources said the government planned to introduce the fully EU-compliant GSP certificates after some member states of European Commission (EC) threatened to drop Bangladesh from the list of beneficiary countries on the ground of chronic fraud and forgeries.
They said the state agency--Export Promotion Bureau (EPB)--has already completed necessary groundwork to issue the new GSP certificates in line with the EU prescribed guidelines.
"Our supplier has already provided us new GSP certificate forms made of special security paper in Germany," Khalilur Rahman, director general of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), told the FE Sunday.
Rahman also convener of a government committee, formed to investigate the GSP certificate forgeries, said they are scrutinising some certificates sent to them for verification by several EU countries.
The government formed the committee in October last to investigate whether the fraud and forgeries in issuance of the GSP certificates were carried out within or outside the country, sources said.
They said RMG exporters of some native countries for enjoying the GSP facility engaged with such fraud and forgeries.
Sources also said the government tightened the processing of applications for GSP in an attempt to stem continued forgery by parties from third countries after October last.
When contacted, some leaders of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) hailed the introduction of new GSP certificate and expressed the hope that this will help check the bad practice.