FEPD Circular Letter No. 07: Providing Sufficient Information of Imported Goods in L/Cs for Customs Release Monitoring

Foreign Exchange Policy Department
Bangladesh Bank
Head Office
Dhaka-1000.
Ref. No. FEPD(Circular) 123/2014-07
Date: 05 May, 2014

To
All Approved Dealer Banks engaged in Foreign Exchange Transactions Head Office / Principal Office.

Dear Sirs,

Providing sufficient information of imported goods such as name, description, quantity, HS-code, price etc. in the L/Cs for ensuring proper management & monitoring the release of imported goods under L/C after completing customs procedure.

Reference is drawn to the National Board of Revenue letter No. 17(2) S/N & B/2005/314 dated 07/04/2014 (copy enclosed).

According to the said letter, commercial banks involved in foreign trade often fail to include proper information regarding the name, description, HS-code, and price of imported goods in the Letters of Credit (L/C) opened for imports; in most shipments, the proforma invoice does not contain a clear description of the name and description of the imported goods. Furthermore, in the L/C opened based on the proforma invoice, the name and description of the imported goods are often mentioned as "as per proforma invoice" instead of providing specific details. In such cases, upon importation, when releasing import documents for customs clearance, the concerned bank only endorses the L/C/Letter of Credit and does not endorse the proforma invoice. Consequently, this creates difficulties for customs authorities in verifying the authenticity of imported goods and provides an opportunity for false declarations. Additionally, in many cases, imported goods remain un-released at the port for a long time after importation.

To resolve these complexities, you are advised to take the following measures:

• The L/C must contain a clear description of the name, description, quantity, HS-code, and price of the imported goods.
• Although Rule 4(n) of Appendix 4 of TE-600 discourages mentioning the source of the proforma invoice/contract in the L/C, if the source must be mentioned in the L/C for justified reasons, the proforma invoice must be endorsed along with the Letter of Credit for the release of goods.
• Importers must take all necessary measures to ensure timely release of goods and prompt and timely payment authorization by the bank.

Please kindly inform all concerned parties regarding this matter.

Yours faithfully,

Enclosure: As per description

(Md. Zakir Hossain Chowdhury)
Deputy General Manager
Phone: 9530250