India today said it has withdrawn the transshipment facility to Bangladesh’s export cargo to third countries transiting through its land borders to Indian airports and ports but made it clear that the measure would not affect Dhaka’s trade with Nepal and Bhutan.
Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Randhir Jaiswal, talking to the media in New Delhi, confirmed that the transshipment facility to Bangladesh for third country cargo had been extended since 2020 and over the last five years, it has resulted in “significant congestion” across Indian airports leading to backlog, delay and a rise in logistics cost for Indian exporters.
It was for this reason that a decision was taken to terminate the transshipment facility for Bangladesh’s exports to third countries transiting through Indian airports and ports, Jaiswal said.
However, “It has no impact on Bangladesh’s trade with Nepal and Bhutan,” he added.
Jaiswal’s response came in reply to a question if the withdrawal of transshipment facility was in any related Bangladesh Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus’s recent remarks made in China seeking extension of the latter’s “economic sphere” through north eastern India to Bangladesh to access the Bay of Bengal.
The decision to revoke transshipment facility for third-country exports from Bangladesh was announced by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes which issued a notification to this effect on April 8, following a request for the same by India’s Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) on February 15 this year.
Source Courtesy: Daily Star.net
