Bangladesh Bank on Monday said local Umrah service agents will not require to take prior approval from the central bank to provide guarantee up to 1,00,000 Saudi Riyal to their counterpart agents in Saudi Arabia. The authorised dealer branches of the scheduled banks earlier used to take prior approval on mandatory basis from the BB on behalf of the Umrah service agents to provide guarantee up to 1,00,000 Saudi Riyal, a BB official told New Age on Monday.
The Umrah service agents of the KSA seek guarantee amounting to SAR 1,00,000 for every Hajj aspirant from the counterpart Bangladeshi agents, the BB official said.
To this end, the BB issued a circular to all ADs asking them not to require prior approval on mandatory basis from the central bank to provide guarantee against the Hajj aspirants.
The BB, however, set some conditions for Umrah service agents to qualify the central bank’s new rules.
Applicant Umrah service agents will have up to date licenses from the Ministry of Religious Affairs as Umrah agents.
The Bangladeshi agents will also have valid licenses from the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism as travel agents and valid Accreditation Certificate from International Air Transport Association.
-With New Age input
