Thanks to the lack of coordination amongst the authorities concerned, import clearance needs to hop over 25-32 stops at major ports in Bangladesh, thereby slowing the delivery of goods.
This was claimed by a recent media report which cited a study by the customs wing supported by the World Customs Organisation (WCO) in this direction, as per which, importers in Bangladesh have to complete the import-clearing process by passing through 32 steps at the country’s principal sea port– Chittagong Seaport, which is the largest export-import hub of Bangladesh.
The study further, reportedly, underlined it takes 28 steps at Benapole (the largest land port), and 25 at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka while adding completion of the customs procedures, from declaration to release of goods, requires 8 days for seaborne cargo, 2 days and 11 hours for airfreight cargo, and 5 days and 4 hours for land cargo.
