India revokes trans-shipment facility for Bangladesh 

India has revoked a key transit facility for Bangladeshi exports via its territory, days after Dhaka’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus pitched for China’s economic entry into India’s Northeast.

The government has terminated the trans-shipment facility that allowed export cargo from Bangladesh to third countries using Indian land customs stations en route to ports and airports, according to a government circular.

The facility had enabled smooth trade flows for Bangladesh’s exports to countries like Bhutan, Nepal, and Myanmar. It was provided by India to Bangladesh in June 2020.

The ministry said that the facility stands withdrawn with effect from April 8, 2025, and clarified that the move does not impact “Bangladesh exports to Nepal or Bhutan transiting through Indian territory.”

Confirming the development, the Ministry of External Affairs on Wednesday said, “The transhipment facility extended to Bangladesh had over a period of time resulted in significant congestion at our airports and ports. Logistical delays and higher costs were hindering our own exports and creating backlogs.”

The decision was formalized through a circular issued by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) on April 8. “It has been decided to rescind... circular...dated June 29, 2020, as amended with immediate effect. Cargo already entered into India may be allowed to exit the Indian territory as per the procedure given in that circular,” the notification stated.

According to trade experts, the rollback of this facility is expected to benefit several Indian export sectors, including textiles, footwear, and gems and jewellery — industries where Bangladesh is a formidable competitor, particularly in apparel.

Muhammad Yunus, during a recent four-day visit to China, described India’s Northeast as ‘landlocked’ with “no way to reach out to the ocean,” casting Bangladesh as the region’s key maritime gateway.

Positioning Dhaka as the “only guardian of the ocean” in South Asia, the Chief Adviser urged Beijing to deepen its economic footprint in Bangladesh.

“The seven states of India, the eastern part of India, are called the Seven Sisters. They are a landlocked region of India. They have no way to reach out to the ocean. So this opens up a huge possibility. This could be an extension of the Chinese economy,” Yunus had said at a high-level roundtable discussion in Beijing.

Responding to Yunus’s remarks, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar slammed Bangladesh and said India believes that cooperation is an integrated outlook, not one subject to cherry-picking.

“We, after all, have the longest coastline in the Bay of Bengal, of almost 6,500 km. India shares borders not only with the five BIMSTEC members, and connects most of them, but also provides much of the interface between the Indian sub-continent and ASEAN. Our North-Eastern region in particular is emerging as a connectivity hub for the BIMSTEC, with a myriad network of roads, railways, waterways, grids and pipelines,” the External Affairs Minister said.

(Courtesy: Agencies)