Nepal may give duty-free access to 62 BD items :: Financial Express :: Financial Newspaper of Bangladesh
Nepal may give duty-free access to 62 BD items
Dhaka mulling zero tariff to 108 products from Kathmandu
Published : Wednesday, 18 September 2013
FE Report
Nepal is likely to give duty-free access to about 62 Bangladeshi products as a reciprocal action after Bangladesh agreed to grant zero-tariff entry to 108 Nepali items in February, said ekantipur.com, an online news portal of Nepal on Tuesday.
The ministry of commerce and supplies (MoCS) of Nepal has submitted the list of the 62 items to the ministry of finance (MoF) of the country for its approval.
The products recommended by the ministry to be enlisted under preferential treatment to Bangladesh include lentils, vegetables, cereals, wheat flour, fruits, juice, dairy products and handmade paper, among others.
Similarly pharmaceuticals, electronic goods, garments, fishes and some food items are also among the products recommended for duty-free entry into Nepal.
MoCS Joint Secretary Jib Raj Koirala said his ministry forwarded the list to the MoF around three weeks ago, and that it was currently reviewing the items to make sure that their import without duty would not hurt local producers.
Three months ago, the MoCS had formed a committee under the coordination of the Director General of the Department of Customs to select the items, said the news portal.
"After holding talks with the stakeholders, we forwarded the names of the items suggested by the committee," added Mr Koirala.
MoCS Joint Secretary Rameshwor Pokhrel, said the ministry had paid greater attention to studying whether providing zero-tariff facility to certain goods would hurt the country's revenue collection.
"Most of the items among the 62 make a small contribution to revenue collection and they are also less likely to impact local industry negatively," Mr Pokhrel said.
The MoCS officials said that once the list of products was finalised, the ministry would ask the Bangladesh government to fix a date for the joint secretary level meeting.
During the joint secretary level technical meeting held on February 17 this year in Dhaka, the Bangladesh side had offered preferential treatment to 108 Nepali items.
Bangladesh is Nepal's second largest trading partner in South Asia. Nepal 's main exports to Bangladesh are lentils, vegetables and animal feed, and its major imports from that country are electronics, juice, medicines, cotton, solar batteries, readymade garments, cosmetics, raw jute and plastic furniture.
Nepal may give duty-free access to 62 BD items
Dhaka mulling zero tariff to 108 products from Kathmandu
Published : Wednesday, 18 September 2013
FE Report
Nepal is likely to give duty-free access to about 62 Bangladeshi products as a reciprocal action after Bangladesh agreed to grant zero-tariff entry to 108 Nepali items in February, said ekantipur.com, an online news portal of Nepal on Tuesday.
The ministry of commerce and supplies (MoCS) of Nepal has submitted the list of the 62 items to the ministry of finance (MoF) of the country for its approval.
The products recommended by the ministry to be enlisted under preferential treatment to Bangladesh include lentils, vegetables, cereals, wheat flour, fruits, juice, dairy products and handmade paper, among others.
Similarly pharmaceuticals, electronic goods, garments, fishes and some food items are also among the products recommended for duty-free entry into Nepal.
MoCS Joint Secretary Jib Raj Koirala said his ministry forwarded the list to the MoF around three weeks ago, and that it was currently reviewing the items to make sure that their import without duty would not hurt local producers.
Three months ago, the MoCS had formed a committee under the coordination of the Director General of the Department of Customs to select the items, said the news portal.
"After holding talks with the stakeholders, we forwarded the names of the items suggested by the committee," added Mr Koirala.
MoCS Joint Secretary Rameshwor Pokhrel, said the ministry had paid greater attention to studying whether providing zero-tariff facility to certain goods would hurt the country's revenue collection.
"Most of the items among the 62 make a small contribution to revenue collection and they are also less likely to impact local industry negatively," Mr Pokhrel said.
The MoCS officials said that once the list of products was finalised, the ministry would ask the Bangladesh government to fix a date for the joint secretary level meeting.
During the joint secretary level technical meeting held on February 17 this year in Dhaka, the Bangladesh side had offered preferential treatment to 108 Nepali items.
Bangladesh is Nepal's second largest trading partner in South Asia. Nepal 's main exports to Bangladesh are lentils, vegetables and animal feed, and its major imports from that country are electronics, juice, medicines, cotton, solar batteries, readymade garments, cosmetics, raw jute and plastic furniture.
