EPB's enrolment certificate tenure for exporters extended to 5 years

The Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) has extended the validity period of its registration certificate (enrolment certificate) for exporters from the existing one year to five years in a bid to facilitate trade. 

Businessmen of various sectors have been demanding extension of the tenure of this registration certificate, which is mandatory for individual and institutional exporters, for a long time.

In view of that, the EPB made the decision in a board meeting held last March and formally announced the development in an order on 27 April.

According to the EPB order, exporters, as per their requirements, can apply for issuance or renewal of this certificate with any validity period ranging from one to five years. The validity period will be calculated from the date of issuance or renewal of the certificate. 

All exporters have to apply online (ems.epb.gov.bd) for certificate issuance or renewal and pay the fees accordingly, it said.

However, only those exporters who have updated their registration will be able to avail of this service. Exporters whose certificates are not up-to-date till 30 June this year will not get this service. They have to renew the certificate first, then they can apply for a new term certificate. 

Moreover, Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP), Certificate of Origin (CO), Saarc Preferential Trading Arrangement (Sapta), South Asian Free Trade Area (Safta), Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement (Apta), and Registered Exporters System (REX) certificates will not be issued to exporters without an up-to-date registration paper, the EPB order mentioned.

The main export product of Bangladesh is ready-made garments. Traders in this sector have to get this certificate more than others. 

Mohammad Hatem, executive president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), told The Business Standard that the EPB's decision is positive for business. It will save a lot of time and cost of traders.

Govt measures to improve ease of doing business

Bangladesh was ranked 168th out of 190 countries in the latest Ease of Doing Business Index by the World Bank. The World Bank in its report mentioned that the country's business competitiveness is decreasing due to its backward position on this index, which is discouraging foreign direct investment in Bangladesh.

To address the issue, the government has taken various reform initiatives to make business easier.

The Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (Bida) has initiated reforms in various sectors including launching a one-stop service and ensuring hassle-free trade licenses to applicants.

In November last year, the Office of the Chief Controller of Imports and Exports, another organisation under the Ministry of Commerce, extended the tenures of the import registration certificate (IRC) and the export registration certificate (ERC) from one year to five years.