The Cabinet Division on Thursday recommended that the National Board of Revenue should not set up any new land customs station within 50 kilometres of
the existing one and close down inactive LC stations.
The division, in a letter sent to the NBR on the day, suggested closing down the LC stations which remain ineffective due to geographical or other reasons.
The division made the suggestions on a draft policy on setting up LC stations formulated by the revenue board.
‘Initially, the NBR will declare such LC stations inactive and then, one year later, it will shut those down permanently,’ the division said.
NBR may form a committee at local level to get feedback prior to closing down any LC station, it said.
The Cabinet Division also recommended that the NBR should not open any new customs station without developing necessary infrastructure including road, open yard and warehouse, and appointing sufficient manpower.
Setting up new LC stations will not be appropriate if there are no LC stations installed by neighbouring countries, particularly by India on the other side of the border.
Before opening any new customs station, the NBR should also conduct a feasibility study on the possibility of export and import business through it, the division recommended.
In the draft of the policy, the NBR proposed that inactive LC stations, which have no export and import activities for a long time, should be closed down, NBR officials said.
They said the revenue board was now collecting opinions from stakeholders including different ministries and divisions of the government, trade bodies and associations related to export and import business.
There are 181 land customs stations set up for facilitating export and import business with India and Myanmar through rail, roads and waterways along the borders.
Only 34 LC stations including 18 land ports under Bangladesh Land Port Authority are active and the remaining 147 are inactive, the NBR officials said adding that even some active LC stations were also experiencing very insignificant volume of import and export activities.
‘Most of the LC stations in the country have no export and import activities for a long time. The revenue board sees no necessity to keep them open any more,’ a NBR customs wing official told New Age.
Most of the stations were opened following request or amid pressure from influential political and business persons or groups to facilitate imports and exports, he said.
‘Even, the NBR was forced to open two LC stations three kilometres in between, he added.
These stations witnessed only one or two incident of export and import activities after their inception and remained inactive for years.
In June 2009, the revenue board had postponed export and import activities through 98 LC stations and declared 49 others inactive because of an absence of import and export activities through the stations, NBR officials said adding that currently no customs officials were working in those stations.
The Cabinet Division also recommended ensuring double lane roads, navigability of water ways, brick-soled roads from the zero line of the border to customs stations of the both side for establishing new customs stations.
It also recommended setting up police check post within two kilometres of new customs stations for security reasons.
-With New Age input
