Validity of shipment for goods

Validity of shipment for goods:

(a) Unless, otherwise specified, shipment of goods shall be made within seventeen months in the case of machinery and spare parts and nine months in the case of all other items from the date of issuance of LCA Form by Bank or registration of L/C Authorisation Form with Bangladesh Bank Registration unit, as the case may be.

(b) Shipment of goods under commodity aid/grant, and account trade arrangement/counter trade arrangement shall be effected within the time limits as may be notified by the Chief Controller;

(c) In case where shipment could not be made within the validity period due to circumstances beyond control of the importer, the Chief Controller may extend the time limit for shipment of goods on the merit of each case;

Restriction on L/C after imposition of ban/restriction- No extension of the date of shipment in any Letter of Credit or amendment to Letter of Credit or enhancement of the value or quantity of goods shall be allowed by the nominated Bank or by the Import Control Authority after the import of the item or items have been banned or restricted.

Document required to be submitted along with LCA Form- Importers in both public sector and private sector shall submit to their nominated Banks the following documents along with the L/C Authorisation Form for opening Letter of Credit:

(a) L/C Application Form duly signed by the importer;

(b) Indents for goods issued by Indentor or a Proforma Invoice obtained from
the foreign supplier, as the case may be; and

(c)Insurance Cover Note.

Additional documents to be furnished by public sector importers- In addition to the documents mentioned in sub-paragraph (11) above, public sector importers shall submit the attested photocopy of sanction letter from the Administrative Ministry or Division or Authority, wherever applicable;

Additional documents to be furnished by private sector importers- In addition to the documents mentioned in sub-paragraph (11) above private sector importers will be required to submit the following documents, as :---

(a) Valid Membership certificate from the registered local Chamber of Commerce and Industry or any Trade Association established on all Bangladesh basis, representing any special trade/business;

(b) Renewed Import Registration Certificate for the concerned financial year;

(c) A declaration, in triplicate, that the importer has paid income-tax or submitted income tax return for the preceding year;

(d) Proof of having Tax Identification Number (TIN) in all cases of imports, excepting personal use;

(e) Any such document as may be required as per this Order or Public Notice, or instruction issued by Chief Controller, from time to time under this Order;

(f) Any necessary papers or documents according to this Order;

(g) Insurance Cover Note either from Sadharan Bima Corporation or from any Bangladeshi Insurance Company and duly stamped insurance policy against this cover-note.


Violation of the requirement of LCA/LC: 

(a) Shipment effected before issuance of the L/C Authorisation Form by the nominated Bank and registration with the authorized dealer bank, wherever necessary, and before opening of L/C or after expiry of the validity of the L/C Authorisation Form or L/C shall be treated as import in contravention of this Order.

(b) L/C Authorisation Form obtained on the basis of false or incorrect particulars or by adopting any fraudulent means shall be treated as invalid and void abinitio.


Import against indent and pro-forma Invoice- L/C may be opened against an indent issued by a local registered Indentor or against a pro-forma invoice issued by a foreign manufacturer/seller/supplier.

Procedure to be followed by banks for acceptance/issuance of LCA Forms- Banks will follow the following procedures in the case of accepting or issuing of LCA Form:

(a) Acceptance of LCA Forms by the nominated banks-

(i) LCA Forms and other relevant papers shall be submitted by recognised industrial units in the private sector and registered commercial importers to their respective nominated bank for the purpose of import by opening L/C.

(ii) While accepting LCA Forms from a private sector importer the nominated banks shall ensure that the concerned importer has a valid Import Registration Certificate (IRC), the requisite renewal fees for IRC for the relevant financial year has been paid and particulars of the treasury chalan showing payment of renewal fees has been duly recorded in the IRC of the said importer. Unless a private sector importer is specifically exempted from IRC, LCA Forms shall not be accepted from him/her, or L/C shall not be opened in his/her favor without valid and legally renewed IRC.

(iii) In case of import through land route, name of the land port of destination in Bangladesh will be clearly stated in concerned L/C;

(iv) L/C for import of capital machinery and initial spares for setting up of a new industrial unit may, however, be opened without any Import Registration Certificate (IRC) and without obtaining exemption certificate from the Chief Controller. No formal sanction shall be necessary from the sponsoring authority for such import against cash foreign exchange in respect of industrial units in the free sector;

(v) Certificate from the related bank regarding import cost payable at cash foreign currency of capital machineries and equipments by foreign investors organisations within their equity share is to be required;


(b) Compulsory recording of H.S. Code Number- Banks shall not process any LCA Form or open L/C without properly recording the appropriate H.S. Code Number on the LCA Form or L/C. Bangladesh Bank shall monitor the compliance by the banks (scheduled) of the above requirements.

(c) Registration of LCA Form- In case of import by opening L/C or without L/C, the authorised dealer bank shall get the LCA Form registered and submit the Bangladesh Bank’s copy to Bangladesh Bank along with monthly statement after payment is made. Out of the rest copies, 2 (two) copies to the office of the Chief Controller of Imports and Exports, 1 (one) copy to the importer, 1 (one) copy to Customs Authority are to be sent and the other copy will be preserved with the bank. The dealer Bank shall send all the information of registration to the concerned office of Bangladesh Bank in a statement on monthly basis.

(d) Case where LCA Forms under Government allocation are not required to be registered- In case of import under Loan, Credit, Grant or Barter or STA where registration with the Bangladesh Bank is not necessary, the nominated bank, after endorsing the particulars mentioned in the L/C Authorisation Form shall forward the L/C Authorisation Form along with L/C application Form and other required documents to the designated bank with the request to open L/C. The designated bank after opening L/C, shall forward the third and fourth copies of L/C Authorisation Form to the concerned Import Control Authority within fifteen days.


(e) Transmission of the copy of L/C for record of the Import Control Authority- In all cases, the L/C opening banks shall forward a legible copy of the L/C and copy of amendment thereto, if any, to the concerned Import Control Authority for their record within fifteen days.

(f) Despatch of Income Tax declarations submitted by private sector importers- The nominated bank of the concerned private sector imports shall retain one copy of the Income Tax declaration furnished by the private sector importers and forward the other copies to the Director (Research and Statistics), National Board of Revenue, Segunbagicha, Dhaka.

(g) Change of Nominated Bank- Within the jurisdiction of any particular Regional office of Controller of Imports and Exports, change of nominated Bank can be done if no objection is provided by both the Banks and the matter has been informed to the concerned Regional Office of Controller of Imports & Exports.