Restaurant owners call for end to ‘fear, force and fine’ by mobile court 

With a nine-point charter of demands, restaurant owners said there has been harassment in the name of mobile court raids on eateries.

"Without any reason, the courts with 15-20 cops, BGB [Border Guard Bangladesh], RAB [Rapid Action Battalion] and Ansar men threaten us," said the Bangladesh Restaurant Owners Association (BROA) in a written statement Saturday.  

The association called for a guideline to conduct the courts, meant for stopping sales of adulterated and stale food items.  

"The courts have been spreading a wrong message that all of us are selling adulterated food. We are not denying that a few of the restaurateurs are resorting to illicit measures. But we want to correct our mistakes," the statement reads.

The eatery owners at a press briefing in the capital on the day cited at least seven authorities such as standards & testing institution, RAB and consumers' right protection directorate who conduct the courts.   

They argued that assault by the courts if a restaurateur fails to pay the fine is "unacceptable" and "unexpected" in any civilised country, and the pressure by the courts to pay the fine instantly could not be "justified" by any law.

According to the law, the fine is to be cleared within five days.   

"Fear, force and fine would yield a little in ensuring safe food for Bangladesh – a dream of the prime minister for Bangladesh," they noted.

 Reduce commission for food delivery services 

Other key demands of the eateries include slashing 35%-40% commission to 10% for the food delivery companies like FoodPanda, Pathao and HungryNaki.

"The companies are supposed to charge only for the delivery, but they are fixing the commission on their own. They should be brought under a unified 10% commission immediately," said Imran Hasan, secretary-general of the restaurant owners' association.    

Leaders of the association urged the government to formulate a guideline for the booming food delivery businesses.

Imran Hasan said if the commission is not fixed at a logical rate by the guideline, the association will call for suspending food supply to the companies.   

There are around 60,000 restaurants across the country while 8,000 of them are in Dhaka, according to the restaurant owners' association. The association says the number of restaurants currently providing online delivery services is not more than 10% of the total establishments.

 Introduce one-stop service

The owners claimed they have to work under 11 government agencies to get registration and renewal every year.

"The lengthy processes of registration and renewal means harassment. We request the government to introduce a one-stop service for the sector similar to the developed nations," Imran Hasan told the press conference.

He also called for extending the renewal every three years, which now needs renewal every year.

The owners demanded all food businesses, including street food, to be brought under VAT registration and tax rebates.