Business Initiative Leading Development (BUILD), in association with the National Board of Revenue (NBR), organised a Dialogue on Customs Act 2023 on March 6, 2024, at its Conference Room at Motijheel. The dialogue focused on key provisions of customs-related issues in the Customs Act 2023. The Act included international best practices such as the WCO revised Kyoto Convention, WCO safe framework of standards and WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement. The new Act has 269 clauses, which was 286 in the previous one.
Dr S. M. Humayun Kabir, Member, Customs Audit, Modernisation and International Trade, NBR, was present as the Chief Guest and said that change is a continuous trend. We are planning to hold a series of dialogues, and this will help us change our mindsets.
Having referred to some of the provisions of the new Act, such as consultations with the stakeholders before bringing any changes in the Act( section 262), AEO rules for the compliant traders, policies for voluntary disclosure( clause 171(2), release of products through self-clearance(clause 90(3), extension of time refund application ( clause 34), he said that we made these changes for simplification of procedures and better services to businesses.
Md Abdul Kafi, former Commissioner of Customs Excise and VAT, NBR, moderated the session and highlighted some critical historical perspectives of the customs issues from his long experiences of working in this area.
BUILD CEO Ferdaus Ara Begum gave an introductory speech and informed us that there is a target of USD 111 billion in exports by 2027. Customs should be modern enough to handle massive exports and imports to meet the target.
Raich Uddin Khan, First Secretary (Customs, Policy and Budget), NBR, made a presentation highlighting different new provisions such as electronic declaration, risk management, Non-Intrusive Inspection(NII), post clearance audit, advance ruling, National Enquiry Point, advanced passenger information etc. Rules, manuals, procedures, and SOPs will be prepared soon for implementation of the new Act.
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