Prime minister鈥檚 private industry and investment adviser Salman Fazlur Rahman stated on Sunday that a lack of coordination among Export Promotion Bureau, National Board of Revenue, and Bangladesh Bank resulted in discrepancies in export figures.
Bangladesh Bank, recently, revised the country鈥檚 export earnings data downward by over $12 billion for the July-April period of the financial year 2023-24.
In the FY2022-23, the discrepancy between the actual realisations, reported by Bangladesh Bank, and EPB鈥檚 shipment figures amounted to $12.08 billion.
鈥楾here have been issues due to the lack of coordination among EPB, Bangladesh Bank, and NBR,鈥� Salman said at a roundtable on Digitalising International Trade in Bangladesh, organised by the International Chamber of Commerce, Bangladesh.
He noted that this discrepancy raised the question of whether the country had understated its exports, clarifying, 鈥榯he correction figure primarily concerns what is known as CMT [Cut, Make, and Trim] export.鈥�
鈥業n CMT export, fabric and yarn are provided free of cost, converted into garments, later and then exported. Whether the fabric is part of CMT or paid for, it still counts as an export; because we are converting and exporting it,鈥� prime minister鈥檚 adviser explained.
Salman also highlighted another mistake by the EPB, where exports from the Export Processing Zones were counted twice.
Fabric and yarn, exported from the EPZ into Bangladesh, were initially counted as exports, and then the finished garments, made from these materials, were also counted as exports. This double counting led to an overstatement of exports, he clarified.
鈥楾he issues have been resolved fortunately, and EPB, Bangladesh Bank, and NBR are now working together to implement proper mechanisms to prevent such mistakes in the future,鈥� Salman added.
