The government has initiated a move to incorporate some fresh provisions in the draft Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) Act, 2014 aiming to make the Bureau more functional and effective for further rejuvenating the country's overseas trade.
Regular holding of board meetings and increase in the number of Board members in the EPB are among the provisions to be incorporated in the draft law.
Earlier on July 7 last, the cabinet sent back the proposed draft EPB Act, 2014 to the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) for taking stakeholders' opinions as well as completion of vetting by the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary (MoLJP) affairs.
The MoC, in line with the cabinet directives on the proposed draft law, held stakeholders' meeting aiming to make the proposed law 'time-befitting and effective' for the EPB.
At present, the EPB is run by an ordinance of 1977 which is to be turned into an Act. There were some changes in the ordinance in 1984.
"We have held stakeholders' meeting. We sent the draft to the MoLJP for pre-enactment vetting," Additional Secretary of the MoC Shawkat Ali Waresi told the FE Thursday.
He said the MoC will send the draft law to the cabinet for final approval after completion of vetting by the MoLJP.
"We are scrutinising the draft Act. We hope, we will be able to send it back to the MoC as early as possible for taking steps," a high official of the MoLJP, who is involved in the process, told the FE on the day.
At present, there are 14 members of the EPB Board of Management. The draft has proposed to increase at least one more member in the board. The Commerce Minister is the chairman of the board.
The EPB Board of Management members are: six from high officials of different ministries, four from the private sector, three from the EPB and one is the Commerce Minister.
"Once the proposed Act is passed in the parliament, it will greatly help to gear up the activities of the EPB that would lead to an increase of the country's export," Vice-Chairman of the EPB Shubhashish Bose told the FE Tuesday.
He said the enactment of the proposed Act and its rules will give specific guidelines about the activities of the EPB and strengthen it.
Mr Bose said the new member will be from the Ministry of Information, and Communication Technology instead of the Ministry of Environment and Forest.
The government has set a target to export goods worth US $ 33.02 billion in the fiscal year (FY) 2014-15. The country exported goods worth US $ 30.18 billion during the last fiscal which was $ 27.03 billion in the FY 2012-13, according to the EPB data.
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