Staff Reporter

The Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dhaka (MCCI) organized a discussion on Ease of Doing Business: Issuance/Renewal of Licenses for 5 Years” on Thursday, August 11, 2022 at MCCI Motijheel office. Barrister Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh, Hon’ble Mayor, Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC), graced the event as the Chief Guest.

The mayor was warmly received by a team from the members of the MCCI’s Board of Directors led by its President Mr. Md. Saiful Islam. The other members of the team were Senior Vice President Mr. Kamran T. Rahman, Vice-President Mr. Habibullah N. Karim, and several other members of the Board of Directors.

The President thanked the mayor for taking time out of his busy schedule to attend this event. He stated that ensuring ease of doing business was vital for a country’s business and investment. The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and the pandemic made it even more important, he said.

One of the key factors based on which a country’s ease of doing business is assessed is how easy it is to start a business.

This is an area where Bangladesh has some room for improvement. Starting a business requires several licenses (e.g., trade license) from different government offices. In most cases, licenses are issued or renewed for a year. Both processes are time-consuming.

As a result, by the time businesses arrange the required documents for the issuance or renewal of a particular license, next year’s license renewal becomes due. It becomes a year-long practice requiring devoted resources.

The MCCI President suggested allowing such license issuance and renewals for 5-year periods besides the regular 1-year period. He believed that would save a lot of time and effort.

Every year, DSCC issued a huge number of licenses. Hence, MCCI had invited the DSCC mayor for the discussion, the President clarified. MCCI also had plans to invite the mayor of Dhaka North City Corporation in the future.
Vice-President Mr. Habibullah N. Karim said that if the mayor helped with the 5-year licenses/renewals, its benefits could have a trickling effect in other areas of ease of doing business too.

Member of the Board of Directors and the immediate past President Ms. Nihad Kabir pointed out that a prerequisite to trade licenses for e-commerce companies was to operate from commercial premises. She believed a waiver of this condition would help many small e-commerce businesses.

Mr. Md. Shahidullah Azim, Acting President, BGMEA, mentioned that the Ready-made garment sector was eyeing $100 billion export volume by 2030, and 5-year license periods would very much be welcome by the sector.

The mayor was very receptive to the points raised and the suggestions made. He assured of all possible help from his office in providing solutions to the issues faced by the business community. He also commended MCCI’s efforts in leading a dynamic private sector.

He added DSCC had raised its overall revenue by ensuring good governance without raising tax rates. He mentioned the DSCC was ready to give multiple year trade licenses as long as the other relevant bodies whose approvals were required by businesses would provide their permissions on time.

He also mentioned that the relatively high tax and AIT involved in obtaining trade licenses is respect to the fees paid to DSCC was another factor to be taken into consideration. He, however, believed that with MCCI and the business community in full support, DSCC could provide the solutions to not only the businesspeople but also to all the citizens of the country.

The event ended with a vote of thanks by the MCCI Senior Vice-President, Mr. Kamran T. Rahman.