Sept 06, 2016: Paving the way for a seamless movement of traffic, a cargo truck from Bangladesh reached Delhi through customs free borders as part of a trial run, under a trans-national pact.
The truck of Nazrul Transport Agency and Expo Freight Pvt. Ltd. from Bangladesh was dispatched from Dhaka on 27th of August 2016 under the Bangladesh Bhutan India Nepal (BBIN) Motor Vehicle Agreement (MVA).
The agreement was signed in Thimphu in June 2015 to facilitate cross—border movement of both passenger and cargo vehicles in the sub-region.
Protocols to implement the Agreement are being negotiated by the four countries for passenger and cargo vehicles separately. The trial run of the cargo truck from Bangladesh with Delhi-bound consignment was organized to help develop the protocols for implementing the Agreement.
The vehicle started its journey from Dhaka and reached at Petrapole on 28th August, 2016, and Kolkata on 29th August, 2016. In India it travelled through the states of West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, UP, Haryana and Delhi travelling more than 1850 kilometers to reach the Inland Custom Depot in New Delhi. On reaching Delhi’s ICD at Patparganj, the truck was welcomed by Shri Vivek Johari, Chief Commissioner Customs, Delhi.
The truck was issued an E-permit for the trial run through an online web based system. This is to establish a customer friendly process acceptable to and recognized by all BBIN countries.
The consignment did not have to undergo any customs clearance at the border. Instead, when it reached the first Indian customs station at border point Petrapole, an electronic seal with GPS tracking device was fixed on the truck so that the goods could be inspected for custom clearance at Delhi rather than at the border.
An electronic online vehicle tracking system was also installed in the truck that facilitated real time monitoring of its progress. The truck was thus allowed to pass through without delay or causing congestion. The Integrated Multi-modal Transit System Ltd (DIMTS) provided support for testing the GPS based online/live vehicle tracking by all stakeholders and agencies concerned in India and Bangladesh.
Unlike the earlier situation where the cargo trucks had to be off loaded at the border and also go through customs clearance, the new initiative could save time and cost through facilitation of smooth transport through the sub-region, giving a major boost to trade and business.
A similar successful trial run of cargo vehicle from India was conducted in November, 2015 from Kolkata to Agartala via Dhaka. The trial run established that with such facilitation, the distance of more than 1550 kms from Kolkata to Agartala via India’s Chicken’s Neck will be reduced to 650 kms if trucks travel through Bangladesh resulting in reduction in overall transaction costs.