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Beginning on the 28th, customs clearance and freight forwarders across Bangladesh went on strike for 48 hours to achieve their demands, including amendments to the 2020 Licensing Rules.

Customs clearance and freight forwarders had staged a similar one-day strike on June 7 to halt customs clearance and shipping activities at all sea, land and river ports in the country with the same appeal, and on June 13 they reported to the National Taxation Commission Submitted a letter requesting changes to the license and certain other parts of the rules.

This followed another strike by customs clearance and freight forwarders in Chittagong on May 18, with many licenses not renewed despite their repeated appeals. However, the authorities did not respond appropriately, so the federation, now the umbrella agency for customs clearance and freight forwarding in Bangladesh, is carrying out a two-day strike action.

"The IRS has not taken any steps to comply with our request," said Shamsur Rahman, president of the federation. "Therefore, we have decided to enforce a two-day full-duty break at all customs and duty stations."

Traders are concerned that import and export activities will be severely disrupted, as customs clearance and freight forwarders, the main players in this strike, often strike again and again. They said the processing of hundreds of thousands of tonnes of imported and exported cargo will remain suspended amid a two-day strike by customs clearance and freight forwarders (C&F agents) across the country. Container ships on some voyages may miss designated boxes.

¡°If customs clearance and freight forwarders (C&F agents) continue to strike, no import or export trade can be done. The tax committee should sit with them to resolve the impasse,¡± noted Narayanganj-based garment exporter Abul Kalam Azad.