Free movement of vehicles across Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN)
A new chapter in trade relations and people to people contact between India, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal was initiated yesterday (5th September 2016), as a Bangladeshi truck laden with imported consignment of readymade garments, rolled into Customs Inland Container Depot, Patparganj, Delhi. Though the vehicle entered India through Petrapole Land Customs Station, the customs clearance has been done at ICD, Patparganj. The vehicle was affixed with GPS tracking equipment at Petrapole and the cargo was sealed electronically. This helped in live tracking of the vehicle as it moved from Petrapole to New Delhi, with an alert mechanism in case of any attempt to tamper with the cargo. The vehicle was allowed movement under a bond without imposing any additional requirements such as bank guarantees.
In a function at ICD Patparganj, Delhi Customs Chief Commissioner Vivek Johri said, "This is yet another measure in a series of trade facilitation initiatives taken by the Government recently to help businesses cut transaction costs. The compulsion to tranship goods at the borders with our neighbouring countries has been a major and longstanding pain point hindering free flow of trade. The measure would not only relieve that pain but also allow the BBIN region to more fully exploit its potential for integration through trade."