Automation at Chittagong Customs House
With the inauguration of the automation project of the Chittagong Custom House the forwarding and clearing operation of the port has potentially come at par with that of other international ports. All concerned agencies and institutions must be complimented for their role in completing this project within a very short span of time. This new addition comes as a part of the larger context of the port operation, which would have remained incomplete without this technology. The changeover is also heartening because it is a product of public-private partnership.
This modernisation, one understands, is a part of the overall reform project of Chittagong port which saw in the first part the operation of the port made more efficient by introducing procedures that have helped reduce the turnaround time of the ships from 14 days to three.
This is indeed a good start in respect of the government efforts to improve the overall commerce and business climate in the country. It is now for all concerned to see that the system functions without any hindrance, since there is a lot at stake for all of us in its being able to do so. There is also the imperative for consistent monitoring of the system to stave off any glitch, technical or manmade.
Apart from the fact that the cost of doing business will come down to almost half, which have been mainly due to the inordinate procedural delay imposed by the operatives of the past system and their corrupt practice, the steps for clearing and forwarding goods will be reduced to five from what is a most unseemly 42 steps. This will not only contribute nearly Taka 400 crores to the state kitty annually, which was being lost through tax evasion and paying the corrupt custom officials, there is the question of savings in terms of man-hour loss since it will not require traders' physical presence at the customhouse, as bulk of the paperwork can be done on line. Hopefully, we have seen an antidote to corruption in Chittagong Customs House put in place.
It is only but natural to assume that this step will reflect too on the price level of imported goods and fulfillment of export orders. If the consumers are not benifitted by the cost saving mechanism, and if the businessmen use the system to enhance their profit margin only, without reflecting the cost savings on the prices of goods, it will unfortunately be another system that will be by the rich and for the rich only.
We would hope that not only should the new system be fully utilised by all the concerned agencies, similar system should also be introduced in other ports of entry including land ports of the country.
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