Bangladesh (Commonwealth Union)_ In an effort to reduce transportation time and costs for India, Bangladesh has granted permission for India to transport goods from one state to another using major Bangladeshi ports, in accordance with an agreement inked in 2018 between the two countries. Accordingly, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) in Bangladesh issued a permanent standing order allowing India to use Chattogram and Mongla seaports for transit and transshipment to transport goods to and from India via Bangladesh territory.
The NBR issued the order after completing trial runs for the operationalization and regular movement of products. According to the order, Bangladeshi ports, the NBR, customs, and other taxation parties will levy specific fees in accordance with the country’s tax and VAT laws. The order specifies that this will cover charges for documentation, transshipment, security, scanning, administrative fees, an electric lock and seal fee, and toll fees for using Bangladeshi roads.
Chattogram Port, Bangladesh’s primary seaport, is located on the banks of the Karnaphuli River in the nation’s southeast and is in charge of more than 90% of the country’s export-import trade. Mongla Port, the country’s second leading seaport, lies close to the shore of the Bay of Bengal. India will be able to use these ports to transport goods to its northeastern states, including Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, and Tripura. India and Bangladesh signed an agreement in 2018 for the use of Chattogram and Mongla ports, and a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for passenger and cruise services was also signed in 2019.
According to officials from both countries, this new order will save both time and money for India. Further, Bangladesh State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury noted that Bangladesh port authorities are capable of managing cargo at maximum speed. In addition, Bangladesh and India have also signed an agreement to use inland water transit to transport products from West Bengal to India’s seven eastern states via Bangladesh.
The NBR notice states that there are 16 routes between the two ports and the northeastern Indian states. Hence, the initiative will significantly reduce the cost and duration of transporting products between Indian states. For example, the distance between Kolkata and India’s northeastern states by land is over 1,200 kilometers (745 miles), whereas Chattogram and Mongla ports are located at almost half the distance.
Further, critics argue that this will be advantageous only to India until a similar facility is opened to Bangladesh and other neighboring countries in the region, including Nepal and Bhutan. However, this agreement is considered a step forward in fulfilling the commitment made during bilateral meetings between Prime Ministers Sheikh Hasina and Narendra Modi.
