DHAKA – The National Board of Revenue (NBR) today signed Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) with 38 ministries and agencies for the National Single Window (NSW), a virtual platform to do business from home.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith attended at the agreement signing ceremony as the chief guest while Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed and President of Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) M Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin were present as special guests.

NBR Chairman M Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan presided over the function jointly arranged by NBR and the World Bank Group.

Muhith said NBR is establishing the NSW to facilitate businesses for completing all procedures related to import and export through online using the platform.

“For trade and investment, support from NBR and concerned agencies is crucial. The agreements will help facilitate better communication between different ministries and agencies and help improve the path of progress,” he added.

Tofail said Bangladesh is moving forward achieving Vision-2021 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

He said the government has taken the initiative to make the trade and commerce easier through bringing all the trade related activities under a single window.

The NSW will deliver a user-friendly electronic system that streamlines and automates procedures for registered private sector stakeholders and the government agencies for international trade related permits, licenses,
certificates and custom declaration.

To improve its international trading performance, Bangladesh has committed to develop and operate a National Single Window with support from the World Bank Group under Bangladesh Regional Connectivity Project-1 with
Customs Modernisation and NSW Implementation component amounting to US$ 74.1 million.

The NSW for trade will benefit 319,000 Bangladeshi traders by reducing time and cost of trade in the fifth year of operation.

The average processing time for import is expected to be reduced to 122 hours while average processing time for export to 88 hours.