Bangladesh may insist that importers of luxury goods seek official authorisation for letters of credit (L/Cs) as the government considers a range of measures to reduce the country's balance of payment deficit.

The government is also contemplating banning certain imports or imposing a regulatory duty higher than the current rate of 25 per cent to discourage imports of a large range of items.

L/Cs conditional

The government may opt to reduce imports of certain goods by making their importation conditional.

In such cases, importers would have to obtain prior permission from the Ministry of Commerce before opening L/Cs.

Restricted goods

The ministry, along with the National Board of Revenue, will jointly identify luxury items to be restricted.

These are likely to include vehicles, expensive electronic items, cosmetics, fruit juices, bottled food items, jam, jelly, chocolate and clothing.

This article represents the views of the author and not necessarily those of the ICC or any of the other partners in DC-PRO.