India bans imports of ready-made garments, other items from Bangladesh through land routes

NEW DELHI, May 18 (Xinhua) -- The Indian government has imposed restrictions on imports of certain goods, including ready-made garments, from the neighboring Bangladesh through land routes, officials said Sunday.

A notification issued on Saturday by the Federal Ministry of Commerce and Industry through the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has prohibited the import of all kinds of ready-made garments from Bangladesh through land ports.

However, it stated these products will only be allowed to be imported through the seaports of Nhava Sheva and Kolkata.

Besides this, a wider range of goods, including fruit and fruit-flavored carbonated drinks, processed food items, cotton and cotton yarn waste, plastic and PVC finished goods (excluding essential industrial inputs such as pigments, dyes, plasticisers, and granules), and wooden furniture, will face more stringent port restrictions.

As per the notification, these items will not be allowed entry through any Land Customs Stations (LCSs) or Integrated Check Posts (ICPs) in the northeastern states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram. The restriction also extends to LCSs at Changrabandha and Fulbari in West Bengal.

However, the DGFT clarified that these restrictions do not apply to certain essential imports. Items such as fish, liquefied petroleum gas, edible oil, and crushed stone will continue to be permitted through all existing land and seaports.

The DGFT notification has also clarified that these port restrictions are not applicable to Bangladeshi exports to Nepal and Bhutan transiting through India.

Last month, the Indian government terminated a trans-shipment facility that allowed Bangladesh to export cargo to third countries through Indian land customs stations. Enditem