Even as Bangladesh had requested Saudi Arabia to exempt customs duties on 130 ‘Made in Bangladesh’ products during the fourteenth session of the Saudi-Bangladeshi Joint Committee meeting held in October in Riyadh, the latter has recently declined to offer any exemption from customs duties to products from Bangladesh on account of the unified customs tariff system of Gulf countries.
This is as per media reports, which cited a ‘note verbale’ by the Saudi embassy in Dhaka, which reportedly underlined Saudi Arabia was unable to provide any exemptions from customs duties as it cited except for those which are exempted under an international agreement within the framework of the Gulf Cooperation Council — Saudi Arabia is part of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) customs union since January 1, 2003 — Customs duties are in accordance to the unified customs tariff of the council.
Meanwhile, as per Bangladesh Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), the country exported goods worth US $ 290 million to Saudi Arabia in fiscal 2021-22 even as apparel items accounted for US $144 million out of that.
Bharat Tex Special Report 2026 
