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“We will inspect the factories, collect samples and test those at the BSTI labs before issuing the licences,” said Haque.

Non-compliance will result in a Tk 2 lakh fine or a four-year jail term or both as per the BSTI law, he added.

Madhab Chandra Ghosh, president of Bangladesh Sweets Manufacturers Association, said they did not know anything about the new move.

“It will lead to harassment for small businesses. The BSTI authority should have consulted stakeholders first,” he said.

Ghosh also said he would raise the issues in their general meeting today to decide on their next course of action.

“Since we are becoming a high middle-income country in the next 17 years, all our activities need to be formalised accordingly,” said Khondaker Golam Moazzem, research director of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD).

So, it is important to bring all companies under a formal structure through registrations and licencing under relevant authorities and using trademarks, he said.

Therefore, in case of businesses or products, be it retailers or small-scale ones, they should do business availing permission from the relevant institutions of the government, he said.

It is also important to ensure that such entities face no obstacles when going through such formalisation processes, Moazzem added.

“Our businesspeople are actually afraid of the hurdles in the process of formalising institutions. So, the government should keep an eye on those obstacles,” he said.

For example, there are many allegations of bribes having to be paid to avail licences or to get those renewed and in some cases, the amount of fee being too high for a small product, he said.

“All these processes need to be brought online as much as possible. Certain fees for licences or other services should be fixed so that it is not a big burden on the small businesspeople,” said Moazzem.

Besides, traders concerned should be made aware of these issues through the media, he said.

If a trader has any complaint about such processes, it should be taken into consideration transparently and addressed properly, he said.