Bangladesh Eases Clearance Process for Goods from Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: Bangladesh has announced the removal of the mandatory 100 percent physical inspection for all imported goods from Pakistan, a move designed to accelerate Customs clearance and enhance trade efficiency.
According to reliable sources, the **Bangladesh National Board of Revenue (NBR)** has informed Customs houses across the country about this significant change. The previous policy, which required manual inspections for all consignments from Pakistan under the National Selectivity Criteria of the ASYCUDA World system, has now been deemed unnecessary. Pakistan has been officially notified of this decision.
These restrictions were initially imposed by the government of Hasina Wajid, which was ousted by the public in August of this year. The decision follows a meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Bangladesh Chief Adviser Dr. Muhammad Younis late last month during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) summit in New York.
In the NBR’s correspondence, it was highlighted that customs officials at the assistant and deputy commissioner levels were spending considerable time clearing shipments classified as “Red Lane”—a high-risk category that necessitates both documentary reviews and physical inspections. However, the letter noted that these inspections had not produced significant findings. Consequently, the Dhaka Customs House recommended that goods from Pakistan be excluded from the National Selectivity Criteria.
Under the ASYCUDA World system, shipments are classified based on risk levels: low-risk consignments pass through the “Green Lane” without inspections, moderate-risk goods go through the “Yellow Lane” for document review, and high-risk items are directed to the “Red Lane” for thorough examination.
With this new directive, exports from Pakistan will no longer be automatically categorized as high-risk. Instead, Customs officials will implement a Product-Based Risk Management system, allowing for greater flexibility in managing imports from Pakistan.
