Chattogram Bureau :
Chattogram customs have once again extended the permission for importers to take delivery of 38 types of imported goods, including food products specified by the National Board of Revenue, from both the Chattogram port and private inland container depots (ICDs).
This permission, granted at the request of the Clearing and Forwarding (C&F) Agents Association, will now be valid for another three months from 1 October to 31 December next, Khairul Basar, deputy commissioner of the Chattogram Custom House, told New Nation.
Under this decision, importers can choose to take delivery of ICD-bound goods from either the Chattogram port or the 19 private ICDs located in the port city. ICD owners, however, have expressed concerns that this dual delivery policy will lead to container congestion and disrupt the normal operations of the port. No other major port in the world follows a system where goods and containers are delivered directly from the port yard, they claimed.
According to Bangladesh Inland Container Depots Association (BICDA), 23 per cent of goods imported through Chattogram port should be delivered from ICDs. However, under the current policy, more than 50 per cent of ICD-bound goods are being unloaded directly at the port. The 19 ICDs collectively handle over 220,000 import containers annually.
BICDA leaders expressed frustration with the customs authorities, noting that entrepreneurs have invested approximately Tk 6,000 crore in the ICDs, which provide jobs for around 20,000 permanent and temporary workers. They claimed that the dual delivery policy undermines the investment and purpose of the ICDs.
Ruhul Amin Sikder, secretary general of BICDA, stated that in 2017, a representative of the US Coast Guard directed that all deliveries be removed from the Chattogram port yard as part of International Ship and Port Facility Security Code implementation.
Ruhul also criticised the customs authorities for not consulting with stakeholders before making decisions. On the other hand, Kazi Mahmud Imam Bilu, secretary general of the Chattogram C&F Agents Association, defended the policy, claiming that importers sometimes prefer to take delivery from the port because it can take time to transfer containers from the port to the ICDs for unloading.