Professor Lutfey Siddiqi, Special Envoy on International Affairs to the Chief Adviser, on Saturday said the 'Bangladesh Single Window' will be effective within the month of March to ease the import and export processes for businesses.
"Seven out of 19 certificates, licenses, and permits (CLP) issuing organisations are included in this phase. We will switch off the seven organisations' manual system on January 31, 2025. Manual CLP submissions will no longer be accepted for seven government agencies after January 31," he said.
The special envoy said this while speaking as the guest of honour at the second session on 'Economic Reforms and Institutions' at the symposium on 'White Paper and Thereafter Economic Management, Reforms and National Budget' at the Bangabandhu International Conference Center (BICC) in the city.
The seven organisations are the Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA), the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), the Department of Explosives (DoEX), the Bangladesh National Authority for Chemical Weapons Convention (BNACWC), the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA), the Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA), and the Department of Environment (DoE).
Lutfey Siddiqi said the remaining 12 agencies will be integrated into the window within February.
He, however, said importers and exporters can register on the platform using their business identification number (BIN) and submit all necessary documents digitally.
Using the system, he said, an importer or exporter can obtain all the certificates, licences and permits and submit the necessary information on a single online platform for clearance of goods.
Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, Chair of the 'White Paper 2024', Distinguished Fellow, Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) and Convenor, Citizen's Platform for SDGs, Bangladesh, moderated the session.
White paper authors Dr M Tamim, Vice Chancellor, Independent University Bangladesh (IUB) and Professor, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET); Dr Tasneem Arefa Siddiqui, Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Dhaka and Founding Chair, Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU); Professor Mustafizur Rahman, Distinguished Fellow, Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) and Dr Selim Raihan, Professor, Department of Economics, University of Dhaka and Executive Director, South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM) made presentations on the white paper.
Professor Rounaq Jahan, Distinguished Fellow, CPD; Professor Anu Muhammad, formerly with Jahangirnagar University and Member-Secretary, National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, Power and Ports; Dr Michal Krejza, Head of Development Cooperation, Delegation of the European Union to Bangladesh; Syud Amer Ahmed, Lead Economist and Program Leader, Human Development The World Bank, Bangladesh and Barrister Shameem Haider Patwary, Presidum Member and Additional Secretary General of Jatiyo Party delivered remarks as distinguished commentators.
Bd-pratidin English/Lutful Hoque
