India denies entry of BD trucks at Benapole following transshipment facility cancelation

Dhaka: Petrapole Port denied entry of four trucks carrying ready-made garments from Bangladesh. The trucks returned to Dhaka from Benapole port on April 9 evening.

The move followed the cancellation of a transit facility—had been in place since June 2020—that allowed Bangladesh to export goods to third countries through India’s ports and airports. On April 8, India’s Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs issued a notification cancelling the facility.

Following the ban, the exporter DSV Air & C Ltd had to bring back its four trucks from Petrapole. A representative said, "The returned trucks contained ready-made garments. All the goods were being sent to Bhutan."

He explained that these trucks were set to unload their goods in Kolkata. From there, Indian trucks transport the goods to Bhutan by road.

Kartik Chakraborty, general secretary of the Petrapole Clearing and Forwarding Agents Staff Welfare Association of India, said, "The Indian Finance Ministry has issued a letter to the Petrapole customs authority to stop transit facilities through the land port."

"In light of this letter, transit facilities for goods from Benapole to Petrapole port have been stopped," he added.

Earlier on April 9, Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for India's Ministry of External Affairs, clarified, "The cancelation of the facility does not impact Bangladesh's exports to Nepal and Bhutan transiting through Indian territory."

Stakeholders claim, the cancelation of the facility will create hurdles in the trade and cause major losses to Bangladesh’s exports.