Traders have suggested that the government should restructure the registration and renewal fees for the import and export permits in order to boost import and export business in the country.
Several trade bodies have also agreed to initiate a move to reduce the registration and annual renewal fees, a businessman involved in the process told the FE.
Accordingly, the country's apex trade body put forward a set of recommendations to the commerce ministry for its consideration.
In the recommendations, it called for liberalising the existing import policy and restructuring the fees divided into six slabs according to import values.
In the first slab, the registration fee has been fixed at Tk 5,000 and the renewal fee at Tk 3,000 for the import of Tk 0.5 million worth of goods annually.
The trade body recommended that the import value in this slab should be raised to Tk 0.8 million and the registration and renewal fees be lowered to Tk 2,000 and Tk 1,000 respectively.
As per the second slab, an importer now pays registration fee of Tk 10,000 and renewal fee of Tk 6,000 for importing goods worth Tk 2.5 million.
But the traders suggested slashing the import value to Tk 2.0 million, the registration fee to Tk 5,000 and the renewal fee to Tk 2,000.
The trade body also recommended raising the registration fee to Tk 30,000 from Tk 8,000 and the renewal fee to Tk 12,000 from Tk 6,000 when the import figures are Tk 5.0 million, Tk 10 million, and Tk 50 million and above.
It also urged the government to simplify the procedures for registration and renewal of permits.
A high official concerned at the commerce ministry told the FE, "We are now going over the suggestions. We will have to sit with the traders to arrive at a decision on the issue."
talhabinhabib@yahoo.com