The Bangladesh Single Window digital platform also allows traders to obtain mandatory documents certifying that quality, health and safety standards are met. © AP
DHAKA — Bangladesh has introduced digital clearances of imported goods at its ports as it looks to catch up with Asian rivals by introducing a fully paperless customs system by 2028.
The Bangladesh Single Window (BSW) has been operating since July, and in mid-September marked the issuance of half a million imported goods clearance documents.
Thanks to the BSW — the fruit of an eight-year World Bank project costing 5.85 billion taka ($47.6 million) — importers now receive 90% of customs clearance certificates within a day, with 83% being issued within an hour, according to the customs department.
The platform also allows traders to obtain mandatory documents certifying that quality, health and safety standards are met. In addition, the BSW integrates 19 major trade-related bodies, including the Directorate General of Drug Administration, Department of Narcotics Control and the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution.
Another 18 organizations will be onboarded as part of the platform’s second phase, BSW Project Director Jewel Ahmed said, with this expected to be completed by Dec. 30, 2026.
Obtaining documents had been a cumbersome process, requiring a physical visit and sometimes taking up to one month to receive.
Specifically, a study by the Bangladeshi tax authority in 2022 found imported goods took 11 days on average to go from the customs port to the receiving manufacturing unit.
Such inefficiencies at customs ports have often been blamed for Bangladesh’s sluggish foreign investment compared with India, China, Cambodia, Indonesia, Singapore and Vietnam.
As such, the initiative is seen as a welcome and much-awaited move.
“It was a complex project that set up an interoperable system and rules among 38 government agencies,” said trade economist Masrur Reaz.
Still, some authorities are not yet fully integrated with the platform, something acknowledged by a BSW official, causing problems for Bangladesh’s all-important pharmaceuticals sector and other industries.
“We are getting the benefits of the BSW with the importing of finished goods, but more work has to be done for wider coverage of the digital platform,” said Naimul Huda, executive director of finance and accounts at Dhaka-headquartered Incepta Pharmaceuticals.
He noted that the pharmaceutical industry needs to import a huge amount of chemical acids for its drugs, with it taking more than a year for them to be released from customs due to the need for numerous certificates and permits.
“We expect active pharmaceutical ingredients to be brought under BSW to expedite customs processes, otherwise this industry cannot survive,” he said.
Foreign investors in Bangladesh have cited customs as a major bottleneck, often alleging hassles and harassment by officials. A study by the Japan External Trade Organization found that for Japanese businesses — over 300 of which operate in Bangladesh — customs-related difficulties are their No. 1 problem.
Speaking at an event on Sept. 18 marking the BSW’s clearance document milestone, finance chief Salehuddin Ahmed called upon the private sector to embrace the digital platform.
Evasion of duties is a significant problem and Bangladesh’s weak government revenues are a growing concern. It is hoped that the BSW will help address this, with Salehuddin Ahmed saying that countries like Brazil have achieved high tax revenue-to-gross domestic product ratios by offering seamless services.
Another worry for the government and businesses is Bangladesh’s scheduled graduation from least developed country (LDC) status next year, which will see it lose trade privileges.
“Exporters will be able to minimize costs and time obtaining customs clearance documents from ports. This will help them to cut manufacturing costs and time,” said Mohammad Abdur Razzaque, chairman of Research and Policy Integration for Development. “They would be able to offset the probable tariff hike pressure after graduation from the LDC club.”
The challenge now is to expand this digitalization to other areas, a move that would align with the World Trade Organization’s Trade Facilitation Agreement, which mandates paperless customs processes.
“Customs is not fully paperless, and the sea and land ports, which handle 99% of Bangladesh’s international trade, are not yet end-to-end digital,” said Nusrat Nahid Babi, a senior transport and trade logistics specialist covering South Asia at the World Bank.
The good news is these reforms, such as replacing the legacy customs system through additions to the BSW and introducing an integrated border management system for land ports, are in the works, Babi said. The border system is expected to be implemented by June 30, 2028.
Such measures are seen as key to building adoption.
“I don’t think BSW can gain the confidence of businesses yet,” Razzaque said. “The platform needs to improve and provide fast services without hassle as the government promised.”
The article appeared in asia.nikkei