BB instructs service exporters to repatriate earnings within 4 months

The Bangladesh Bank has instructed service exporters to repatriate remittance earnings within four months.

In a circular issued by its Foreign Exchange Policy Department on Thursday, the central bank said the timeline for repatriation of remittance earnings will be equally applicable for service exports, as it is for export earnings from goods and services, which also has the four-month timeline.

Service exporters can maintain notional or merchant accounts abroad to repatriate their income through banks concerned in Bangladesh.

Apart from these, none would be allowed to use export proceeds for equity or portfolio investments or purchase of physical or virtual assets, including cryptocurrencies, as per the guideline of Bangladesh Bank, the circular added.

Violation of the circular will be in contravention of the FER Act, 1947, the circular added.

An official of the central bank said payment against service export, including ICT services, is subject to repatriation within the prescribed period.

Earlier, the government announced an export earnings target of $51 billion, projecting a 12.37% year-on-year growth for the fiscal 2021-22.

Of the target, $43.50 billion will come from goods shipment and $7.5 billion from services, with a growth of 12.23% and 13.15% respectively.

The country fetched a total of $45.39 billion from export earnings in the just concluded fiscal year.

Out of total export earnings, about $38.75 billion was earned from goods exports, recording a 15.10% growth in FY21 compared to $33.67bn in FY20.

In October this year, Bangladesh recorded its highest ever single-month export earnings amounting to $4.72bn, thanks to a strong rebound in demand for apparels in western countries ahead of the festival season and supply disruptions from key competitors that faced fresh waves of pandemic.

Export receipts surpassed the $3.46bn target set for the month, registering a whopping 60.37% year-on-year growth, according to provisional data of the Export Promotion Bureau.