Petrapole Port did not allow entry of four trucks, carrying ready-made garments (RMG), following cancellation of a key transit facility that allowed Bangladesh to export goods to third countries through its ports and airports.

The trucks returned to Dhaka from Benapole port last evening.

On Tuesday, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) in India issued a notification cancelling the facility. This rule had been in place since June 2020 and allowed Bangladeshi cargo to be transported to ports or airports in India via land routes in sealed containers or closed trucks.

Following the ban, the exporter, JMS Composit Ltd, had to bring back its four trucks from Petrapole.

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Basir Ahmed, a representative of JMS Composit Ltd, said, "The returned trucks contained ready-made garments. All the goods were being sent to Bhutan."

He explained that these trucks were set to unload their goods in Kolkata. From there, Indian trucks transport the goods to Bhutan by road. "This reduces transportation time and cost," Basir added.

Kartik Chakraborty, general secretary of the Petrapole Clearing and Forwarding Agents Staff Welfare Association of India, said, "The Indian Finance Ministry has issued a letter to the Petrapole customs authority to stop transit facilities through the land port."

"In light of this letter, transit facilities for goods from Benapole to Petrapole port have been stopped," he added.

Earlier yesterday, in response to a query from Keshav Padmanabhan, principal correspondent at ThePrint India, Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for India's Ministry of External Affairs, clarified, "These measures do not impact Bangladesh's exports to Nepal and Bhutan transiting through Indian territory."

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Aminul Haque, vice-president of the Benapole Import-Export Association, said, "Such a decision by the Indian government will create tension in the trade and friendship of the two countries. We hope that the Indian government will avoid their aggressive decisions and maintain friendly relations."

Kamal Uddin Shimul, vice-president of the C&F Agents Association, said, "Four trucks carrying export goods were not allowed to enter India following the cancellation of the transit facility. This will cause major losses to Bangladesh's export trade."

Benapole Land Port Deputy Director (Traffic) Sajib Nazir said, "Petrapole Customs did not issue cargo passes for third-country goods due to the cancellation of the transit facility...However, the export trade of other goods to India remains normal."