Move to frame gold import policy

Rezaul Karim | Published: February 25, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00

The Bangladesh Bank (BB) has initiated a move to formulate a new policy to regulate imports of gold, silver, jewellery and other precious metals, officials said.
As part of the step, a meeting will be held in the central bank tomorrow, to be presided over by executive director of the BB Md. Ahsan Ullah. Representatives from the ministry of commerce, National Board of Revenue and central bank officials will attend the meeting.
The move comes as incidents of gold smuggling have risen alarmingly in recent times and the nation's airports have become a conduit for illegal import.
The absence of policy deprives the nation of considerable revenue each year.
The ministry and the central bank will review the existing polices on import of gold, silver, jewellery and different metals in the meeting. After that, a policy will be prepared in this connection, BB officials said.
"We will hold a meeting to prepare the groundwork for formulating the policy to regulate imports of precious metals," Md. Masud Biswas, a general manager of the Foreign Exchange Policy Department of the BB, said declining to give further details.
President of the Bangladesh Jewellers Association (BJA) Dr. Dilip Roy told the FE Monday "Currently, the country's jewellery manufacturers cannot purchase gold through proper channels. Our 50 per cent supplies come from recycled gold, and the rest comes from expatriate workers and travellers."
"There is no gold import policy in the country yet. It will be better for gold business if a fresh policy is framed," he said.
Presently, there are 1,200 members under the BJA across the country. There are 30,000 small and medium jewellery shops in districts and upazilas, the BJA head said.
A BB official said presently, an importer can import gold only after getting approval from the central bank.
Under the present Passenger Baggage Rule, passengers can bring up to 100 grams of gold ornament as duty-free.
The passenger can bring another 100 grams of gold bar on payment of Tk 3,000 specific duty for each bhari.
There is no actual information about the country's gold demand. The annual demand for gold has decreased in recent years due to the increase in its price. The annual demand was about 16 to 19 tonnes of gold in the past, which fell to 11 to 15 tonnes annually, industry insiders said.
They said jewellery businesses cannot import gold and other pricey metals in a formal way due mainly to a lack of gold import policy. They only depend on smuggling or on 'baggage rules' for the import of the precious metal.
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