India reminded Bangladesh last month (April) to check and let it know the authenticity of 32 country-of-origin (CoO) certificates which were issued under the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) deal, sources said.
India sent the copies of these certificates to Bangladesh in January and February last year for verification of their authenticity.
Later, the neighbouring nation gave reminders twice in October and November 2021.
However, Bangladesh is yet to send the verification report of the CoO certificates to India.
The certificates were issued against export of men's knitted shirts and shirts from Bangladesh to India.
The Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) of Bangladesh issues the CoO in favour of exporters, so that their goods can enter India without paying duty under the SAFTA deal.
The Indian customs officials verify the CoO certificates from the EPB, if any of those seems suspicious or forged to them.
According to officials, if verification of the certificates takes higher than the stipulated time, the exporters need to furnish bank guarantee - equivalent to the applicable duties - to get their goods released.
Latter, if the CoO certificates are found genuine, the exporters concerned can get back bank guarantee documents and encash cheques.
