Customs operations resume in full swing at Ctg Port; deliveries returning to normal

Import and export clearance activities resumed in full swing at the Custom House, Chattogram (CHC), as operations recommenced this morning (26 May) following the withdrawal of the strike by National Board of Revenue (NBR) officials.

Customs officials are now actively engaged in all functions related to the clearance and assessment of import and export consignments. As a result, cargo deliveries at the port are steadily returning to normal.

Port operations were severely disrupted earlier due to the strike over the dissolution of NBR, leading to a sharp decline in container deliveries and causing congestion in the yards. 

However, officials are optimistic that the backlog will be cleared within a day or two, significantly easing the container jam with the resumption of customs activities.

CHC officials confirmed that operations resumed after the central announcement to call off the strike. Clearing and Forwarding (C&F) agents, importers, exporters, and employees have returned to the customs house to process consignments.

Confirming the resumption, Saidul Islam, deputy commissioner and spokesperson of CHC, told The Business Standard, "Although there was a complete work stoppage from 9am to 5pm on Saturday and Sunday, some work was still done after 5pm. We expect to clear the backlog within the next few days."

According to sources, CHC processes approximately 2,000 bills of entry for imports and 5,000 export bills daily. Of these, 1,200 to 2,500 import consignments are typically assessed and cleared each day.

C&F agents reported that during the strike over the weekend, customs clearance operations dropped by up to 90%, causing a significant disruption to port logistics.

Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan, general secretary of the Chattogram C&F Agents Employees' Union, said, "Customs officials resumed their duties this morning. Document submission and assessment activities have restarted. We urge officials to intensify their efforts to recover from the losses incurred during the two-day strike."

Customs officers had previously observed a six-day pen-down strike starting 13 May (excluding Friday) to 19 May. In the second phase of the protest, they staged a full-day work stoppage on 24 and 25 May.

As a result of the strike, container congestion at the port increased significantly. At one point, containers accumulated 42,315 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in the yard, with a total capacity of 53,518 TEUs.

The indefinite strike was withdrawn Saturday evening (24 May) after the government announced its plan to amend the ordinance that split the NBR by 31 July, as per demands from the NBR Sangskar Oikya Parishad.