Square, Beximco and Incepta Pharmaceuticals yesterday were granted the privilege of being the revenue authority’s trusted traders, meaning they would be able to clear their imported and exported goods from the ports faster than the rest, said officials yesterday.

The three drug makers were declared Authorised Economic Operators (AEOs) by the National Board of Revenue (NBR) at an accreditation ceremony organised jointly with the USAID-Bangladesh Trade Facilitation Activity II project at the capital’s InterContinental Dhaka.  

At the event, the NBR launched the AEO programme to facilitate trade by providing green channel to compliant businesses to do overseas trade in a secure, transparent and predictable trading environment.

As AEO, the companies will enjoy several benefits that include examination of goods on their premises, direct clearance of goods from ports and completion of clearance procedures before the arrival of goods.

The AEO concept, which was introduced by World Customs Organisation (WCO) under the Framework of Standards to Secure and Facilitate Trade (SAFE), was adopted in 2005 with a view to facilitating trade and creating a secure, transparent and predictable trading environment.

AEO is recognition for compliance of businesses and a quality mark that indicates the supply chain is secure. Firms having the AEO status get green channel to do overseas trade.

More than 75 countries have AEO programmes, according to the WCO.

The NBR took the initiative to introduce AEOs in 2014 and framed the associated rules in June last year.

The rules say that an AEO seeker should have a “satisfactory compliance record” and there should be proven record that the applicant was not involved in any wrongdoing in the previous three years. 

NBR Chairman Md Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan and Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry President Md Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin were present among others.