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Pre-shipment inspection snags may hit exports to Bangladesh

Our Bureau

KOLKATA, Sept. 2

AN exporter of dry fish to Bangladesh has drawn the attention of Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), eastern region to the differences in c.i.f. value given in the provisional certificate and the CRF (Clean Report Findings) Certificate, as assessed by Inspectorate Griffith (IG) of Bangladesh.

These differences add to the burden of the importers in Bangladesh who have to bear excess of import duty, for the difference in value, imposed by the Bangladesh customs.

Border trade sources say that other exporters too face the same problem. FIEO has been urged to intervene, so that exports to Bangladesh are not jeopardised.

IG is the designated inspection agency appointed by the Bangladesh Government exclusively for the purpose of conducting pre-shipmenmt inspection (PSI) of all shipments going to Bangladesh.

While conducting the PSI, the inspectorate also assumes the task of evaluation of the export items. Exporters, mainly of perishable commodities, complain that such evaluation by IG was often at variance with the original customs valuation of items.

It is pointed out that although IG supposedly follows the GATT Valuation Rules, its choice of method under the particular rules of valuation is, at times, found to be ``arbitrary and detrimental'' to exports from India.

FIEO, after discussions with the inspectorate, is of the view that there was lack of available information with IG, and that they seldom cross-checked their own findings.

Senior FIEO officials say that inspection and/or valuation of export cargo, wherever and whenever it is taking place, by Indian Government agencies such as Customs, Central Excise and others, should be honoured by IG, and that the Bangladesh body should not insist upon fresh valuation of the export items.

Indian exports to Bangladesh, now on an upswing, should not be allowed to get disturbed because of such technicalities, which require only an added effort from the authorities concerned to be set right, it is pointed out.

It is stated that besides pre-shipment inspection, there were also problems associated with delay in inspection or issuance of certificates.

Recently in the case of an Indian exporter, whose factory is located in Rajasthan, there was enormous delay in issue of inspection certificate occurred as the IG official took his own time to go all the way to Jodhpur and back.

Exporters complain that long-winding documentation procedures lead to delay in issuance of certificates, creating additional problems for bank negotiation of export documents under letters of credit.