Amid strained relations between India and Bangladesh, India has revoked the permission it had been granting to Bangladeshi exports to third countries through certain land border checkpoints. Although Indian media reported that this decision could impact Bangladeshi exports to Nepal, Bhutan, and Myanmar, stakeholders say bilateral trade will not be significantly affected, as the decision does not impact most of the trade routes between Nepal and Bangladesh.
India's Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) issued a directive on Tuesday, ending the facility that had been provided to Bangladesh since June 29, 2020. This move terminates access to Kolkata Port, the Air Cargo Complex in Kolkata, and Nhava Sheva Port via Petrapole and Ranaghat in India.
"As the Petrapole and Ranaghat land border checkpoints are not widely used in trade between Nepal and Bangladesh, Nepal-Bangladesh trade is not expected to be significantly affected," says former Commerce Secretary Purushottam Ojha. He noted that trade between Nepal and Bangladesh primarily occurs via the Fulbari-Banglabandha route, which remains unaffected by India’s latest decision regarding Bangladesh’s third-country exports. Due to the short distance between the two countries, most of Nepal's trade is conducted through this route.
According to the Department of Customs, goods worth Rs 2.97 billion have been imported from Bangladesh in the first eight months of the current fiscal year. During the same period, Nepal exported goods worth Rs 433.5 million to Bangladesh. The highest volume of imports consisted of raw jute, with imports valued at Rs 1.61 billion.
"I have requested legal practitioners to study the Indian decision to determine whether it will have any impact," said Rajkumar Golchha, president of the Nepal Jute Mills Association.
India was reportedly irritated when Mohammad Yunus, the chief advisor to Bangladesh's interim government, recently invited China to invest in Bangladesh, stating that the northeastern region of India is landlocked and only Bangladesh can offer it access to the sea. Relations between the two countries have been tense since India granted asylum to former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The latest Indian decision comes amid this ongoing diplomatic friction.
