American e-commerce giant Amazon wants central bonded warehouse facilities in Bangladesh to enjoy tax benefits, said State Minister for Commerce Ahasanul Islam Titu on Tuesday.
Amazon has been sourcing clothing from Bangladesh for many years and wants to use the country as a transshipment hub, bringing in goods through its global supply chain before sending those to destination countries, he said.
This is to avail the benefits of different tax rates in different countries and reduce the tax burden, he said in response to queries from journalists at a press conference in the commerce ministry in Dhaka.
The press conference was over a meeting Titu held earlier in the day with a visiting delegation of US-Bangladesh Business Council which included representatives from Meta, Chevron, The Coca-Cola Company and Boeing.
Titu said the government would amend the e-commerce policy so that local e-commerce companies could send goods to customers abroad and engage in international financial transactions.
Presently, Bangladeshi e-commerce companies can only conduct business in the domestic market as the policy does not allow transactions on international markets.
Organisations such as the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) have been demanding that the government facilitate the formation of an e-commerce company like Amazon which can distribute goods on the international market and conduct international financial transactions.
The government will formulate a policy in this regard, Titu said in response to a query. The state minister also said he demanded easy access for locally-made items to US markets.
Currently, Bangladesh is the largest importer of American cotton, so Titu demanded duty benefits on garments made from imported US cotton.
Duty-free market access for garments made from imported US cotton is a longstanding demand from the Bangladesh side.
This is because garment exporters face a 15.62 percent duty on exports to US markets.
Titu further said the government has already adopted a national logistics policy to facilitate the e-commerce business by establishing the infrastructure required and formulating necessary strategies.
The arrival of big companies indicates that Bangladesh has big potential in business, the state minister said, adding that they were not only targeting the 170 million people in Bangladesh but also the 330 million people in other countries near the Bay of Bengal.
Nearly 30 members of the delegation, led by Steven Kobos, president and chief executive officer of Excelerate Energy, met Titu.
The delegation also included Atul Keshap, president of US-Bangladesh Business Council, according to a statement from the commerce ministry.
