Baggage rules for gold tightened

The government has introduced stricter regulations on the import of gold bars and ornaments under newly updated baggage rules while offering some leniency in other areas.

The revised rules, issued on Tuesday, impose annual limits on the quantity of gold that passengers can import and increase applicable duties.

Under the previous rules, passengers returning from abroad could bring in one gold bar weighing up to 117 grammes or 234 grammes of silver per trip.

However, there was no limit on the number of trips.

Under the new regulations, passengers can bring in the same amount, but only once per year, subject to a duty of Tk 5,000 per bhori (11.66 grammes).

Previously, the duty was Tk 4,000 per bhori. This means a 10-bhori gold bar will now incur a duty of Tk 50,000, up from Tk 40,000 under the former system.

Imports of gold jewellery have been similarly restricted.

Passengers could previously bring in up to 100 grammes of gold ornaments or 200 grammes of silver jewellery without paying any duties, but this duty-free benefit has now been limited to once per year.

Move will heighten dependence on informal market: BAJUS

Anwar Hossain, spokesperson of the Bangladesh Jewellers Association, told The Daily Star yesterday that they had made several proposals during the budget discussions to further formalise the sector.

But only this one issue was picked from those suggestions. As a result, businessmen are now quite concerned, he said, adding that this single decision has increased the possibility of the industry becoming even more informal.

Due to this decision, gold smuggling will now increase further, he claimed.

The reason is that gold is not produced in Bangladesh, he said. Those who could previously bring in a specific amount of gold as many times as they wanted will now no longer be able to do so.

As a result, the dependence on the informal market will only increase, he said.

Crackdown on gold smuggling

For a long time, authorities have noted that smuggling syndicates had been exploiting leniency in baggage rules to bring large quantities of gold into the country.

In 2018, the government introduced a gold policy to curb smuggling and increase transparency.

The following year, the Bangladesh Bank authorised 18 companies and one bank to import gold, with the licences valid until March this year.

Between 2020 and 2021, the central bank approved imports totalling 306.76 kilogrammes of gold bars across 12 companies.

However, only 160 kilogrammes were actually brought in during that time — nowhere near enough to meet annual demand, which the Gold Policy 2018 estimates at 20 to 40 tonnes.

A report submitted by the NBR to the Ministry of Finance lays bare the true scenario.

The report revealed that between 2021 and 2022, passengers brought in nearly 99,791 kilogrammes of gold under the baggage rules, generating Tk 1,714 crore in revenue.

However, a significant portion of this gold was smuggled out of the country, primarily through border routes into India, as reported by the NBR's Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate.

In 2023–24 alone, approximately 45,600 kilogrammes of gold were brought into the country.

According to industry insiders, about 80 percent of this demand is still met through smuggled gold, resulting in huge revenue losses for the state.

Passenger-friendly adjustments

Despite the tighter stance on gold imports, the government has introduced several passenger-friendly adjustments.

In contrast, the rules for mobile phones have been relaxed.

Passengers are now allowed to bring two used mobile phones and one new mobile phone per year without paying any duties.

Two phones could be brought in previously, but the distinction between new and used devices was not specified.

The baggage declaration deadline has been extended from seven to 30 days, giving passengers more time to correct any unintentional omissions.