The government is going to amend the trade organisations act making it mandatory for businesses involved in foreign trade and all local trading companies and industries to be affiliated with a registered trade body, representing their respective sectors.
Commerce minister Faruk Khan on Wednesday said that a draft on the proposed amendment of the act had been sent to the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry for their opinion.
The commerce minister was talking with reporters after the outgoing head of delegation of the European Commission Stefan Frowein met Khan in his secretariat office.
Khan said sometimes government could not trace many exporters and importers as they were not affiliated with any organisation.
He said that after the act is amended, for getting a trade license all business organisations would require affiliation with the trade body in their respective sector.
The trade organisation cell of the commerce ministry, the regulator of the trade bodies of the country, is working on the amendment in cooperation of the FBCCI.
FBCCI has long been demanding such a law binding all businesses with trade organisations.
At present, some 250-plus trade bodies and 64 district chambers are associated with the FBCCI. But many business houses do not care about being affiliated with any trade body.
FBCCI leaders feel that mandatory affiliation with trade bodies would help assess the real size of economy.
The draft on the amendment of Trade Organisations Act, which will be finalised by the start of next year, would include the provision under which businessmen would not be allowed to export or import unless they were members of trade bodies in respective sector, the minister said.
Replying to a question, the minister said that existing Delivery Order (DO) system has become corrupt. So an alternate ‘Dealer’ or ‘Distributor’ channel would have to be initiated.
A committee has been formed to work out alternatives to DO system which would, however, remain in place until an alternative method is innovated and introduced.
Replying to businessmen’s allegation that salt producers in Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar areas were being affected by the government’s import of salt, Faruk Khan said that the government does not import salt.
Khan claimed there was also a ban on importing table salt and the government would act on it if there were information on anyone importing salt.
However, some special types of salt are imported for industrial use, the commerce minister said.
About his talks with Frowein, Khan said that EU had been requested to increase their assistance for infrastructural development in Bangladesh and help the country in controlling floods, river dredging and development of cyclone shelters.
