The National Board of Revenue, or NBR, has lifted the ban on importing acrylic yarn from Nepal via the land port of Banglabandha in Tetulia of Panchagarh district, Bangladesh.
The Nepal government had been urging Bangladesh since 2017 to remove the ban as it was causing heavy financial losses to Nepal’s yarn manufacturers. Finally, NBR issued a statutory regulatory order (SRO) that now permits the import of Nepalese yarn via Banglabandha port.
The SRO also stated that only those Nepalese importers who have bonded warehouse license will be permitted to import acrylic yarn through the port. Notably, the import done under bond licence is duty free; however, 10 per cent duty is applicable to general imports.
The decision was taken by NBR following consultations with stakeholders so as to encourage bilateral trade between both the countries.
In December 2018, NBR decided that customs would inspect all imported products and also conduct laboratory tests to determine the quality of imported yarns. Around that time, NBR also decided to lift the ban for 1 year, which would later be extended on the basis of reports submitted by a monitoring committee.
The monitoring committee includes representatives from Bangladesh Textile Mills Association, Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry and other agencies concerned with importing yarn from Nepal.
