Dhaka South starts issuing 5-year trade licence

The Dhaka South City Corporation has started issuing trade licences, valid for five years, to businessmen, which is a major improvement from the previous one-year validity period.

Dhaka South Mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh inaugurated the service at a programme organised by the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) on Monday.

Businessmen of all levels under Dhaka South will be able to get a new five-year trade licence or renew their old ones for a five-year term starting from Monday, avoiding the additional hassle of renewal every year, said MCCI, the oldest trade organisation in the country. 

The MCCI also said this service will be gradually extended to the union level which will greatly improve the ease of doing business in the country.

Traders have long been demanding a licence with a higher validity period as they had to face hassle while renewing their licence every year. In view of this, the MCCI requested Dhaka South to extend the licence validity.

At the event, Mayor Taposh said, "If a group of businessmen want to avail this service together, then officials of the concerned service area will go to that institution for issuing or renewing trade licence. This is to make it easy for you [traders] to avail the service."

"Until now, you [traders] used to visit different offices for the service. It will no longer be necessary. As a result, Bangladesh will move forward in the index of ease of doing business," he said.

The mayor also said that this facility will be available for all traders of Dhaka South, not only for MCCI members. Those who apply for licences through the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (Bida) will also get it.

President of MCCI Saiful Islam said, "We had a meeting with the principal secretary of the Prime Minister recently when the licence issue came up. The top level of the government has decided to implement the matter at the union level as well. The service will be gradually implemented across the country."

Nilufer Karim, president of the Women Entrepreneurs Association, called for making this facility available to women entrepreneurs in city corporations, as well as at municipal and union levels across the country.

Former chairman of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) Abdul Majid urged the authorities to secure businessmen's information and to ensure that the servers remain fully operational for the registration process.

Mayor Taposh also called upon the businessmen to transfer the chemical warehouses built in different areas of Old Dhaka to a facility of 500 chemical warehouses recently inaugurated in the Shyampur industrial area.

"Those who will shift their houses to Shyampur will be provided with all services including renewal of suspended trade licence. But those who do not shift will not be given licences," the mayor added.