Bangladesh also officially imports gold. Bangladesh Bank has issued license to around 19 agencies as gold dealers. However, the quantity of gold imported by these agencies is very less.
According to the National Board of Revenue (NBR), seven licensed gold importing agencies have so far imported a total of 139.46 kg of gold bars at a cost of USD 8.2 million after obtaining the licence. Of these, about 12 agencies did not import gold despite having licences. These agencies projected a total of 24 kg of gold imports in 2022, compared to 93 kg last year.
The people concerned say that the main reason behind the low import of gold institutionally is the high tariff fee. While air travelers can bring gold by paying customs duty of Rs 2,000 per bhori, traders have to pay Rs 5,000 as duty for the same amount.
Mustafizur Rahman, a Special Fellow at the Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD), a private research organisation, believes that the issue needs to be probed as the import of gold bars is more than the demand.