Customs clearance activities at the Chittagong Port (CHC) have fully resumed after officials withdrew a recent strike, allowing import and export processes to return to normal. The strike, which began on 13th May and included a six-day work stoppage from 13th to 19th May and full-day protests on 24th and 25th May, had severely disrupted port operations, causing a significant backlog of containers.
Following the Government’s announcement to amend the ordinance splitting the National Board of Revenue (NBR) by 31st July, customs officials called off their strike Saturday evening. Consequently, Customs House, Chattogram (CHC), reopened its doors to clearing and forwarding (C&F) agents, importers, exporters, and port employees on Monday morning, leading to a steady resumption of cargo clearance activities.
Customs officials confirmed active engagement in all functions related to import and export consignment assessment. Saidul Islam, deputy commissioner and spokesperson of CHC, stated, “Although work was halted from 9 am to 5 pm on Saturday and Sunday, some activities continued after hours. We expect to clear the backlog within the next few days.”
Prior to the strike’s end, port operations had been severely hampered, with customs clearance dropping by up to 90 per cent during the weekend, resulting in congestion and delays. At one point, container yard congestion peaked with 42,315 TEUs accumulated against a total capacity of 53,518 TEUs.
Sources indicate that CHC processes approximately 2,000 import bills and 5,000 export bills daily, with 1,200 to 2,500 consignments typically assessed and cleared each day. The recent disruption caused a backlog that officials are now working diligently to resolve.
Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan, general secretary of the Chittagong C&F Agents Employees’ Union, urged customs officials to expedite their efforts to recover from the losses incurred during the strike. “Document submission and assessment activities have resumed. We hope the backlog will be cleared soon,” he said.
The strike was initiated by customs officers protesting over the dissolution of the NBR, and was temporarily resolved after the government’s commitment to amend the relevant ordinance. Customs authorities and port stakeholders are now optimistic that container congestion will ease in the coming days as operations normalise.
