India has recently asked Bangladesh to check on the authenticity of 32 country-of-origin (CoO) certificates which were issued under the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) deal –issued against export of knitted shirts and shirts (men’s) from Bangladesh to India.
Media reports maintained this adding India sent the copies of these certificates to its neighbour in January and February last year for verification of their authenticity, followed by reminders to check on the same in October and November 2021 while underlining Bangladesh was yet to send the verification report to India.
It may be mentioned here Bangladesh’s Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) issues the CoO in favour of exporters, so that their goods can enter India without paying duty under the SAFTA, while the Indian customs officials on their part verify the CoO certificates.
