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Businessmen call for easy visa to India

Star Business Report
Bangladeshi businessmen yesterday urged the Indian high commission in Dhaka to simplify the visa procedures and remove trade barriers to minimise the widening trade gap with the neighbour.
They also demanded to issue Indian visas for them within 24 hours of application, and good behaviour from the visa officers at the Indian high commission in Dhaka.
They spoke at a discussion with Acting Indian High Commissioner in Bangladesh Sanjay Bhattacharya at the office of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) in Dhaka.
Bangladesh imported goods worth $4.58 billion from India in 2010-11 and exported goods worth $512.50 million.
The trade gap is widening for having tough procedures in obtaining Indian visas, non-tariff and para-tariff barriers in trade, vehicle movement restriction, traditional technical standards and weak infrastructures at land customs stations, according to the businessmen.
Absence of banking facilities at the border areas also hampers the trade between the two countries, they observed.
While chairing the discussion, FBCCI President AK Azad said it is true that exports from Bangladesh cannot penetrate the Indian market because of some non-tariff barriers.
The existence of non-tariff and para-tariff barriers in the form of countervailing duties, surcharges, central and provincial sales taxes, luxury duties, certification and quality
approval requirement hamper exports to India, he said.
"The duty structure imposed by the Indian authority on Bangladeshi products is complex and difficult to interpret, as the duty may differ from not only category-wise but also to the products of a same category."
He said India imports a few items from Bangladesh, as Bangladesh does not have a large supply base to offer a wide variety of products to India.
The acting Indian high commissioner suggested Bangladeshi businessmen to apply for business visas while traveling to India, not tourist visas.
Bhattacharya said the number of business visas issued from the Indian high commission in Dhaka is still less than 2 percent although many businessmen do business with India using tourist visas.
He said a businessman can enter India several times with a business visa, as it is provided with a multiple entry facility.
Bhattacharya said the Indian authorities have already opened up a visa centre in Sylhet like Khulna visa centre to ease pressure for Indian visas on the commission's Dhaka office.
Regarding trade barriers, he said Bangladesh enjoys a tariff-free and quota-free trade facility with India after the visit of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Dhaka in September last year.
India has opened up its market for Bangladeshi products, excluding tobacco and alcohol, after the visit of Indian prime minister, he said.
"The ball is now in the court of Bangladesh. Please increase export of goods from Bangladesh to India to minimise the trade
gap," he said.
He said India wants to see Bangladesh's trade with India crossing the mark of billions of dollars, surpassing its current level at millions of dollars.
He said a total of $830 million, out of $1 billion Indian line of credit to Bangladesh, is in the pipeline to improve the infrastructures, particularly the railway, to facilitate the easy movement of goods and services between the two countries.
The commissioner said eight more — four along with common border of Tripura and four along with common border with Mizoram provinces — will be opened up soon to facilitate the businesses at the border areas.
Currently, two border haats --one at Kurigram and the other at Sunamganj border areas — are in operations.