Trade
5 years ago

Buying houses asked to get registered with Textile Dept

FE file photo used for representation
FE file photo used for representation

Published :

Updated :

The government has asked all the buying houses operating in the country to get registered with Department of Textile (DoT) within next two months, officials said.

The Ministry of Textiles and Jute (MoTJ) issued an amended circular on May 28, fixing the timeframe in this regard.

"Buying houses need to be registered within 60 days after the issuance of the circular," the circular reads.

The time could be extended by 60 more days, provided buying houses have valid reasons. According to 7(1) provision of the circular, the government can take legal action against those who will fail to receive registration within the stipulated time, it added.

Earlier on April 01, MoTJ issued a circular fixing the registration fee and explaining the details of the application process, renewal, registration suspension and cancellation, ministry officials said.

The April circular, however, didn't fix any timeframe for registration of buying houses, paving the way for their operation in the country without any regulation, they said.

Earlier, the government had empowered the DoT as the sponsoring authority to provide services to the country's textile and clothing sector by enacting Textile Law 2018.

The law also brought the buying house owners under the department for the first time, officials said.

All textile and clothing industries including readymade garment, cotton and fabrics and buying houses must be registered with the department for running their business in the country, they added.

According to the notification, the buying houses would have to submit their applications to the DoT along with the documents of updated trade licence, income tax certificate, certificate of incorporation for limited company, estimated yearly turnover and bank solvency certificate.

The government has set registration fee at Tk 20,000 which has to be paid through bank draft or pay order.

Subject to receiving documents and inspection report if necessary, the registrar would give registration within 60 days and the validity of registration certificate would be three years, it explained.

Bangladesh Garment Buying House Association (BGBA) president Kazi Iftekhar Hossain welcomed the move.

The mandatory registration with the authority within a timeframe would bring all the relevant industries, buying houses with local and foreign investment and liaison offices of buyers and brands under regulation, he added.

"It is we who have requested the government to set a timeframe for getting registered with DoT," he told the FE on Monday.

There is no statistics on how many companies are working in the sector, he said, adding that many of the buying houses are operating in the country in a scattered way.

The regulatory obligation would help ensure accountability as there were few incidents of unfair practices by buying houses, he noted.

Responding to a question, the BGBA chief said a total of 10 buying houses got registered with the DoT since April 01 this year.

Presently, a buying house can operate its business only by obtaining a trade licence from the authorities concerned and there is no obligation to get registered with a supervising body or an association, according to industry people.

Some 400 garment-buying houses registered with the BGBA while more than 1,000 buying houses run across the country sans any affiliation with the trade body, they added.

Buying houses play an important role in garment-export earning as the majority of apparel factories are dependent on them, they said.

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