Unusual delays in clearance procedures that frequently push cargo processing to 10-12 days at Chattogram Customs are taking a heavy toll on businesses, with traders saying the slowdown inflates prices, clogs supply chains and undermines productivity.
Stakeholders say that although a ship can now berth, unload and depart within two to three days thanks to modernised port operations, efficiency collapses once cargo enters the customs system, creating a major bottleneck for the country’s trade competitiveness.
“The ships are handled quickly now – the bottleneck is not at the berth but in the clearance chain,” CPA Chairman Rear Admiral SM Moniruzzaman told TIMES of Bangladesh.
“Documentation, risk assessment and manual processes still delay container release. Customs and other agencies determine the pace once a container leaves our control,” he added.
Stakeholders blame inconsistent inspections, overlapping paperwork, limited integration of IT systems and a continued reliance on manual processes for the sluggish pace of customs clearance.
Chattogram Customs is one of the most cumbersome and time-consuming in the world, said Jafar Alam, executive director of TK Group, told TIMES.
“The system on the ground is still largely manual and far from international norms,” he added.
BGMEA Director Faisal Samad said since an automated Customs Bond Management System has not yet been implemented, imported goods are sometimes not released on time, which forces exporters to ship their products by air.
Traders say specific rules allow Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (Bepza) containers to undergo customs clearance and physical inspection at the factory level within the export processing zones, as part of the bonded warehouse and one-stop service facilities available to EPZ enterprises.
However, they allege that customs officials often disregard these provisions.
However, Deputy Commissioner HM Kabir of Chattogram Customs defended the clearance procedures as essential for revenue protection. “Risk management and authentication take time to prevent under-invoicing, smuggling and revenue loss,” he said.
Kabir said 70% of assessment time goes into collecting test reports, though importers are now obtaining these faster and the National Single Window is helping reduce clearance times.
He added that full implementation of the World Customs Organisation’s Revised Kyoto Convention (RKC) could significantly reduce delays.
Costs of customs delay
A 2022 National Board of Revenue study found that customs procedures – from filing declarations to inspection and final release – take an average of 11.5 days, far exceeding regional benchmarks.
Traders say the delays are costly. A vessel pays roughly $15,000 a day in charter fees while waiting at berth, and storage charges begin to pile up once containers are unloaded.
A 20-foot container costs $6 per day after four free days, increasing to $12 after seven days and $24 after 21 days, while charges for 40-foot containers are double.
According to a World Bank assessment, these expenses — compounded by prolonged customs delays – feed directly into consumer prices and add to Bangladesh’s logistics burden, which is estimated at nearly 20% of GDP due to inefficiencies, congestion and systemic delays.
“Every day means yard rent, truck waiting charges and rising bank interest. When clearance stops even for a day, it creates a week of backlog. The system has no shock absorbers,” said Khairul Alam Sujon, former vice president of the Freight Forwarders Association.
One businessman said, “Every extra day a container sits in port is a hidden tax on every family.”
To ensure uninterrupted clearance, BKMEA president Mohammad Hatem suggested keeping port operations open – at least on a limited scale – during holidays.
He said if customs procedures cannot be completed within office hours on Thursday, goods often cannot be released until Sunday.
Full implementation of RKC demanded
The Revised Kyoto Convention (RKC) is an international framework that standardises and simplifies customs procedures to facilitate global trade. Widely regarded as the “blueprint for modern and efficient customs administration,” it promotes predictability, transparency and the use of technology such as risk-based management.
Bangladesh joined the RKC in 2012 with plans to implement its commitments between 2015 and 2020.
However, stalled legal reforms and weak inter-agency coordination have left key requirements – including a fully functional National Single Window and uniform risk-based inspections – still incomplete in 2025.
A senior NBR official acknowledged the country is “well behind schedule,” adding that revised targets for the late 2020s may also be difficult to meet.
Khairul Alam and other business leaders say Bangladesh must now deliver predictable service-level agreements, genuine pre-arrival processing, an operational single window and a credible appeals mechanism.
“These aren’t radical reforms – they are RKC basics,” Alam said.
Recent overhaul of port efficiency
The Chattogram port, which handles 92% of Bangladesh’s overseas trade, has undergone a significant operational overhaul in recent years.
It has introduced the Terminal Operation System (TOS), appointed global operator Red Sea Gateway at the Patenga Container Terminal, and replaced the Bangladesh Navy with professional operators at the New Mooring (NCT) and Chattogram Container Terminal (CCT), ending the tenure of local operator Saif Powertec.
The Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) also plans to go fully paperless by February 2026 and is engaging major global operators, including APM Terminals, Medlog, PSA Singapore and DP World.
CPA officials say the reforms have already boosted efficiency. Daily container handling at NCT has increased by 30% – from 2,500 TEUs to 3,500 TEUs – while vessel turnaround time has fallen from 61 to 57 hours.
