Star Business Report
Leaders of the MCCI yesterday urged Industries Minister Dilip Barua to modernise the BSTI so that its certification is accepted worldwide for smooth running of international trade and commerce.
At present, many countries especially India does not accept the certification of the state-owned Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI).
As a result, Bangladesh has to suffer a lot in business with India, said the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) leaders at a meeting with Dilip Barua at his office in Dhaka.
MCCI President Abdul Hafiz Choudhury led the business delegation at the meeting. In a written statement Choudhury said Bangladeshi exporters face severe problems while exporting food and consumer items to India.
He said as per the Indian Prevention of Food and Adulteration Act 1954, Bureau of Indian Standards Act 1986, Essential Commodities Act 1955, there are 85 items which require mandatory testing while imported to India.
“Our export cargoes remain stacked up at the border crossing-points for test clearance certificates and on the process, lose shelf life as well as get damaged,” Choudhury said.
In most cases, Indian testing laboratories are located either in Kolkata or in Chennai, which require a couple of weeks to get the clearance certificate, Choudhury said.
“Unfortunately, our BSTI is not a recognised body. Hence, testing certificates issued by BSTI is not recognised by India,” Choudhury said.
The MCCI urged the minister for the preparation of a strategy paper for reduction of the losses of the sector corporation under the Ministry of Industries-Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation, Bangladesh Sugar and Food Industries Corporation and Bangladesh Steel and Engineering Corporation.
The losses of the sector corporations under the Ministry of Industries amounted to Tk 608 crore in the last fiscal year, the MCCI said.
The MCCI leaders also opined for turning the industrial policy into orders so that those policies have the enforcement power. Under the normal policy nobody is punished since these have no enforcement power.
During the meeting the MCCI leaders demanded for increasing the cash incentives as many neighbouring countries have already implemented to keep stimulus of their economic activities in the age of global financial recession.
The MCCI said for reducing the duty on import of raw materials and to fix duty on import of basic raw materials at 2.5 percent and on intermediate raw materials at 7.5 percent.
Choudhury urged the minister to reduce installation fees of captive power plants and standby generators since those powers generating equipment reduce the dependency on the national power grid.
Courtesy: thedailystar.net
