Govt introduces new policy for selecting CIPs

The government has introduced a new policy which includes an export earning ceiling as a criterion for selecting commercially important persons (CIPs).

The commerce ministry published a gazette notification in this regard recently.

It has issued the new CIP (Export and Trade) Policy-2023, replacing the CIP (export) Policy of 2013 and incorporating new provisions.

Businesspersons who demonstrate extraordinary performance and contribution in the areas of export and trade are granted CIP status.

According to the new policy, a maximum of five, four, and three exporters will be selected as CIPs under each sector for earning over $50 million, between $10 million and $50 million, and less than $10 million, respectively.

Besides, the government has expanded the number of sectors eligible for CIP (Export) recognition from 22 to 35.

The directors of the board of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) will be eligible for CIP recognition under the Trade category as per the Trade Organization Act-2022.

For the first time, the government has included the service sector in the new CIP policy-2023 separately, acknowledging its significant contribution to the national economy.

The loan defaulters and tax defaulters will not be eligible for the award. Besides, applicants for the CIP status must provide attested Income tax and VAT documents from regulators.

The applicant will be disqualified for the award if there is any trade dispute with foreign buyers.

In the CIP Policy-2013, the government had a provision of selecting 188 businesspersons as CIPs from the export (products) and trade sectors. But the new policy has removed this limit.

Two committees, primary and final, will be responsible for selecting the CIPs. The primary and final committees will be comprised of six members and ten members respectively.

The CIP cardholders are entitled to a number of facilities for one year from the day of the issuance of gazette.

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