NBR sets fees for first Bangladesh-Bhutan transit trial

The government has fixed a set of administrative fees and charges for customs formalities related to the first trial run of transit and transshipment of goods between Bangladesh and Bhutan via the Chattogram-Burimari route, according to a notification by the National Board of Revenue (NBR) issued yesterday.

The NBR has fixed fees and charges for six types of services, including document processing and scanning containers.

For the document processing fee, it will charge Tk 30 per shipment. In addition, a transshipment fee of Tk 20 and a security charge of Tk 100 per metric tonne will be applicable.

Users will be required to pay an escort charge of Tk 85 per kilometre for each container, truck, trailer, or covered van, where applicable, and Tk 100 per tonne for a miscellaneous administrative charge.

Besides, the authorities will collect Tk 254 for scanning each container, said the NBR, adding that fees for the electronic lock and seal will be based on applicable rules.

Users will need to pay road usage fees, including tolls, at rates determined by the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges, it said.

The NBR said the fees and tolls will be subject to a 15 percent Value Added Tax.

The order comes into effect immediately and will remain applicable only for the first trial run of transit and transshipment of goods under the Bangladesh-Bhutan agreement.

The NBR's move comes ahead of the scheduled visit of Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay to Dhaka. He is expected to arrive here with the aim of taking bilateral relations to a new level through enhanced connectivity, trade, and investment tomorrow.

The NBR has fixed the fees in line with the Customs Transit and Transshipment Rules, 2021, and in line with the bilateral agreement on the Movement of Traffic-in-Transit and its Protocol, signed between Bangladesh and Bhutan.

Bangladesh and Bhutan signed the agreement in March 2023 in Thimphu, for establishing arrangements for multi-modal communication channels via road, waterways, railways, and airways between the two nations.

HM Kabir, deputy commissioner of Chattogram Custom House, said they have already received instructions to collect the prescribed fees for the trial transshipment. "We will ensure that all charges are collected at the designated rates."

Earlier, the two countries renewed the agreement on the use of inland waterways between Bangladesh and Bhutan for five years until 2027. The deal was signed in 2017.

Bangladesh and Bhutan also implemented a preferential trade agreement (PTA) from July 2022 to boost bilateral trade by easing trade barriers between the two countries. Bhutan is the first country to sign a PTA with Bangladesh.

Under the agreement, Bangladesh gets duty benefit on the export of 100 local products and Bhutan enjoys duty benefit on its 34 products.