Bangladesh Bank has eased foreign payment rules for industrial enterprises operating in Hi-Tech Parks, allowing eligible firms without foreign currency income to pay royalty, technical know-how and technical assistance fees abroad directly from their Taka accounts within prescribed limits.
Under the new arrangement, authorised dealer (AD) banks can process such outward remittances without prior approval from either Bangladesh Bank or the Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority (BHTPA), provided the payments remain within the prescribed limits.
The central bank issued a circular on Thursday, expanding the existing payment mechanism that allowed such obligations to be settled through foreign currency accounts.
Before processing a remittance from a Taka account, however, the AD bank must ensure that the industrial enterprise concerned has no source of income in foreign currency.
The change is intended to make it easier for Hi-Tech Park enterprises without foreign currency earnings to meet overseas contractual obligations for technology, expertise and technical services.
The relaxation, however, applies only to payments within the prescribed limits.
If royalty, technical know-how or technical assistance fees exceed those limits, the enterprise must obtain specific prior approval from the BHTPA before the payment can be remitted abroad.
Prior BHTPA approval will also remain mandatory for remittances involving other similar legitimate expenses, irrespective of the amount.
