ICDs to deliver 15 more items

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has authorised private inland container depots (ICDs) to handle and deliver 15 more types of imported goods arriving via Chattogram port.

The move brings the total number of product categories eligible for off-port delivery through private ICDs to 65.

The NBR issued the directive on July 17 through a circular signed by its second secretary, Md Al Amin. The circular permits the transfer of laden containers to ICDs for unstuffing and final delivery to consignees.

As per the circular, seen by The Daily Star, the expansion comes with three conditions: each container must be scanned before transfer; the port authority will oversee the transfer; and the commissioner of Chattogram Customs House will retain the discretion to allow dual delivery—either from the port or ICDs—in special circumstances.

The revenue board said the decision was aimed at streamlining operations and easing congestion at Chattogram port, the country's principal maritime trade gateway.

Welcoming the move, Bangladesh Inland Container Depots Association (BICDA) Secretary General Md Ruhul Amin Sikder said the move would play an important role in reducing congestion at Chattogram port and in transforming the port into a modern one.

He also underscored the need for continuation of the move in gradually shifting import delivery activities out of the port.

For years, private ICDs were allowed to handle only 38 types of imported cargo. In April this year, the NBR added 12 more categories. The latest update significantly broadens the scope of private depot operations.

There are 21 privately operated ICDs in and around Chattogram, 19 of which are actively engaged in processing both export and import containers, as well as handling empty containers.

The new list includes various food products such as milk and cream, coconuts, Brazil nuts and cashew nuts; several types of chemical items, such as sulphur, sulphates, carbonates, and insecticides, including rodenticides, fungicides, and herbicides.

It also includes chemical substances used in garment and textile factories like polymers of ethylene, polymers of propylene, and others.