The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has urged Custom House, Chattogram to allow exporters to correct unintentional mistakes in documents during the assessment of consignments and thereby expedite shipments.

BGMEA First Vice President Syed Nazrul Islam made the request in a letter sent to Custom House, Chattogram Commissioner AKM Mahbubur Rahman yesterday.

During the assessments at private inland container depots (ICDs), custom officials are imposing fines of exorbitant rates by filing cases of irregularities, he said.

This is ultimately delaying shipments, forcing use of air shipments and discounts for the retainment of competitiveness, he said.

Meanwhile, garment production costs have gone up by around 30 percent to 35 per cent due to a 56.25 per cent hike in workers' minimum wages, pointed out Islam.

The current political turmoil is disrupting delivery of imported raw materials for which it will be a huge challenge for the sector to achieve the export target of $52.27 in fiscal year 2023-24, he added.