India had sought permission for visiting Bangladeshi factories to check whether value is being added inline with the rules of origin criteria of the South Asian Free Trade Area pact.

However, Bangladeshi exporters have expressed their reservations about the onsite visit of factories by Indian officials, thus the government decided to hold joint consultation instead.

Except for a few, Bangladesh is entitled to exporting all goods, duty and quota free to India under the regional free trade accord, but requiring the 30 per cent value addition criteria is a must.

Yet, Indian customs officials frequently decline to accept the rules of origin certificate issued by the Bangladeshi authorities and create impediments to releasing goods from the ports without paying duty.

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