Before the first shipment: ERC, your AD bank, the bond license and EPB enrollment
Bangladesh Bank requires your bank to make sure you are registered under the Importers, Exporters and Indentors (Registration) Order, 2023 before it handles your export transactions.[1] That registration is the Export Registration Certificate (ERC). The Office of the Chief Controller of Imports and Exports (CCI&E) issues and renews it through its Online Licensing Module; as of October 15, 2026 the module says a certificate may be renewed for any full term from one to five years, that the application should be made at least 60 days before expiry to avoid a penalty, and that the current year's income-tax return proof must be uploaded with the renewal.[11]
Your Authorized Dealer (AD) is the bank through which the export proceeds will be received. It reports your LCs, contracts and proceeds to Bangladesh Bank's Online Export Monitoring System (OEMS), passes on your request for the OEMS user ID you need to generate electronic EXP forms, and later issues the proceeds realization certificate you need for bond and drawback purposes.[1]
A garment factory that imports fabric and trims duty-free needs a bond license from the Customs Bond Commissionerate under the Bonded Warehouse Licensing Rules, 2008. Special bonded warehousing is the category for 100% export-oriented woven, knit and sweater factories; the licensee posts a general bond, and inputs may stay in bond for 24 months, which the Commissioner may extend by up to 6 months.[7] Without a bond license you pay duty on inputs and cannot open a back-to-back LC (see below).[2]
An export-oriented garment unit also enrolls with the Textile Division of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), which issues the certificates of origin and preference certificates for garment exports.[10] Membership of BGMEA or BKMEA gives you access to the Utilization Declaration described in the next section.[7][9]
Agree terms with your US buyer: LC or contract, Incoterm and payment
Most garment exports move against a master export LC or a sales contract. Bangladesh Bank requires your AD to check, before executing an export, that arrangements exist for realizing the proceeds within the prescribed period and for the AD to receive the title document (bill of lading or airway bill) on shipment, and to make discreet inquiries about the buyer where shipment is against contract alone or on CAD or D/A terms.[1] Open-account sales are allowed only within the statutory period and against a payment undertaking or payment-risk cover from a designated institution abroad, such as an international factoring company or foreign bank.[1]
The Incoterm decides where your cost and risk stop. Bangladesh Bank lists EXW, FCA, FOB, FAS, CFR, CIF, CPT and CIP as the terms allowed for exports from Bangladesh, provided the LC or contract stipulates them, so a D-term delivered-duty-paid sale is not in the list; under FOB your buyer's forwarder books the ocean freight, and under CFR or CIF you book and pay it to the US port.[1] The Incoterms explainer sets the rules side by side.
Advance payment is cleanest, but it has its own rules: your AD obtains an Advance Receipt Voucher from you, the advance may not bear interest, and the export must be executed within one year of receiving it unless a performance bond or standby LC covers it.[1] Discounts a buyer claims on readymade garment, leather and jute shipments go to Bangladesh Bank's Discount Committee through your AD.[1] Agent commission may be deducted up to 5 percent of the value of the goods without Bangladesh Bank's permission.[1]
Back-to-back LC and the Utilization Declaration (UD): paying for fabric from the export LC
A back-to-back import LC lets you buy fabric, yarn and trims against the master export LC and pay for them from the export proceeds. Your AD may open one only for a recognized export-oriented unit operating under the bonded warehouse system that holds valid CCI&E registration and a valid bond license; the master LC must run long enough to cover import of inputs, manufacture and shipment; and the back-to-back LC value may not exceed the admissible percentage of the master LC's net FOB value under the value-addition requirement the Ministry of Commerce prescribes, where net FOB means the LC value less freight, insurance and commission payable by you.[2] The LC is opened on usance terms, and the usance bill is paid at maturity out of the repatriated export proceeds, which the AD sets aside in a separate foreign-currency ledger; it must be paid at maturity even if the export failed or the proceeds fell short, in which case the AD seeks Bangladesh Bank's post-facto approval and reports the export failure to the NBR and the Commissioner of Customs.[2]
The Utilization Declaration (UD) is the document that ties the inputs to the export. For readymade garments, the UD issued by BGMEA is the basis on which Customs determines how much duty-free input may be used for a given export, and direct garment exporters need no annual bond entitlement: they import inputs on the strength of the UD and the master LC. Other export industries use a Utilization Permission (UP) issued by the Customs Bond Commissionerate instead. Both are finally settled after the goods are exported.[7] BKMEA issues UDs for its knitwear members under NBR authority; its checklist asks for a consumption report, the export LC or contract, the back-to-back LC, the raw-material proforma invoice, a bank certificate and a measurement chart.[9]
Keep the UD, the back-to-back LC and the bills of entry for the inputs together with each export file. Your AD watches the stock of inputs procured under the back-to-back arrangement and must report any sign of disposal from the bond to the Commissioner of Customs and the NBR.[2]
The EXP form: declaring the export to Bangladesh Bank and routing the documents
Every export of goods, unless exempted, must be declared on the EXP form, on which you undertake to repatriate the full export value within the period Bangladesh Bank sets; you declare the full invoice value, without netting off agent commission or trade charges.[1] The 11-digit EXP number starts with the AD branch code.[1] As of October 15, 2026 the consolidated rules are FEPD-1 Circular No. 26 of July 30, 2026, which is valid for one year and replaced FE Circular No. 31 of July 31, 2025.[1]
At custom houses with electronic bill-of-export issuance, the EXP form is submitted electronically in OEMS before the customs formalities, and the data flows to the customs system; the bill of export Customs issues on that data stands in for customs certification of the paper form.[1] Immediately after shipment you report the transport details in OEMS, and within 14 days from the date of shipment you hand your AD a signed hard copy of the EXP form with the customs-certified bill of export and the shipping documents; the AD certifies it post-facto and verifies the shipment against the Customs online export general manifest.[1] Your AD uploads overdue EXP forms to OEMS by the 10th of each month.[1]
Who the bill of lading is drawn to is regulated. For exports by sea the transport document of title must be drawn to the order of an AD and handed only to the AD's representative; it may be drawn to the order of the importer only if full payment was received in advance through the AD and the LC or contract requires it, against a certificate the AD issues to the carrier.[1] Since March 16, 2026, an AD may let an exporter with no overdue proceeds and at least USD 1 million of realized exports over the last three financial years have transport documents issued in the importer's name for shipments up to USD 100,000.[1]
If your buyer's bank is to negotiate against a forwarder's house bill of lading or FCR rather than the carrier's bill, the LC or contract must specifically provide for it and the forwarder issuing it must be operating in Bangladesh with a license from the Customs Authority, and the AD must be satisfied with the repatriation arrangement.[1] Agree this when the LC is drafted; see house bill of lading.
Customs export clearance: the bill of export in ASYCUDA World, the C&F agent, Chattogram and Dhaka
Bangladesh's customs law is the Customs Act, 2023, which repealed the Customs Act, 1969; its authentic English text was gazetted on November 13, 2025, and the Bangla text prevails in any conflict.[5] Under section 81 the exporter submits a declaration of goods in the Customs Computer System, stating the customs procedure, the classification, country of origin and customs value, and the quantity and description; under section 83 an electronic declaration is registered automatically.[5] Section 82 makes the declarant, or the person on whose behalf the declaration is made, liable for the correctness and completeness of the declaration, the integrity of the documents and the production of any further documents the officer asks for, and an agent who files it shares those duties.[5]
The system is ASYCUDA World, the NBR's customs portal, which carries the bill of entry and bill of export, e-manifest upload and document tracking.[8] Under section 243 no person may act as an agent for the import or export of goods at a customs station without a license, so an agent who lodges your bill of export must be a licensed C&F agent; section 244 lets a firm's own clerk or employee transact business at the custom house on its behalf with written authority.[5] The NBR's export-procedure page, written under the 1969 Act, lists the documents to enclose with the bill of export: the export LC, or failing that a contract, purchase order or export guarantee approved by the negotiating bank; the signed commercial invoice; the packing list; the EXP form; a certificate of origin from EPB or a chamber; the VAT registration certificate; and the TIN, plus product-specific permits.[6] Confirm the current list with your C&F agent, because the rules under the 2023 Act and the form order may differ from that page.
Loading is gated by Customs. Under section 52 no goods may be loaded on a vessel until they are under the export procedure and the master has obtained an order for entry outwards, and under section 55 the master applies for port clearance at least 24 hours before departure and delivers the export cargo declaration listing every consignment on board.[5]
Sea freight for the United States leaves through Chattogram (BDCGP) or Mongla (BDMGL), and air cargo from Dhaka (DAC). Transit ranges and routing are on the Bangladesh to USA lane guide and the Dhaka office page. Airlift USA's own office in Dhaka arranges factory pickup, container loading and the export documents; AIRLIFT (U.S.A.), INC., an FMC-licensed NVOCC (FMC No. 016162), issues its own house bill of lading, files the ISF as the NVOCC and arranges the US customs entry through licensed customs brokers. Size the order with the container load calculator, or the chargeable weight calculator for air.
Certificate of origin, GSP and how the US decides a garment's origin
EPB's Textile Division issues GSP certificates, certificates of origin and SAPTA and Annex-III certificates against garment exports, and its checklist for a certificate of origin asks for the invoice, packing list, LC and back-to-back LC, UD, shipping bill and bill of lading or airway bill.[10] For the United States, however, a GSP Form A earns nothing: Proclamation 8997 suspended Bangladesh's designation as a GSP beneficiary 60 days after its publication on July 2, 2013, for failure to afford internationally recognized worker rights,[24] and the US GSP program itself expired on December 31, 2020 and, as of CBP's page of August 6, 2026, is still pending Congressional renewal, so goods pay the Column 1 general rate.[23] Ask your buyer whether the LC or the US entry calls for a non-preferential certificate of origin from EPB or a chamber.
The US side decides origin by its own rule. Under 19 CFR 102.21 the country of origin of an apparel product is the country where it was wholly obtained or produced; failing that, where each foreign material underwent the required tariff shift; failing that, for a knit-to-shape good the country where it was knit, and for other garments the single country where the good was wholly assembled.[13] For many garments cut and sewn in Bangladesh from imported fabric this points to Bangladesh, but origin is decided style by style, so confirm it with your buyer's customs broker; the origin then decides which duties in US tariffs on Bangladesh apply.
That origin must be on the goods. Section 304 of the Tariff Act requires every article of foreign origin, or its container, to be marked conspicuously, legibly, indelibly and permanently with the English name of the country of origin so the ultimate purchaser can see it at the time of importation; unmarked articles pay an additional duty of 10 percent of the appraised value unless exported or destroyed under CBP supervision.[14] For garments the FTC label described below carries the same words.
What the US side needs from you: ISF, labels, flammability, children's wear and forced-labor rules
The Importer Security Filing (ISF, "10+2") is required for cargo arriving by vessel. The ISF Importer, which is the goods' owner, purchaser, consignee or an agent such as a licensed customs broker, must file eight elements no later than 24 hours before the cargo is laden at the foreign port: seller, buyer, importer of record number, consignee number, manufacturer or supplier, ship-to party, country of origin and the HTS number; the container stuffing location and the consolidator may follow but no later than 24 hours before arrival in the US.[12] Your factory name and address, the stuffing location and the HTS code therefore have to reach your buyer's filer before loading. See Importer Security Filing in the glossary and the ISF service page.
FTC labeling. Under the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act rules, each garment must carry a label with the generic names and percentages by weight of the fibers present in amounts of 5 percent or more, in order of predominance; the name under which the manufacturer or marketer does business, or its FTC Registered Identification Number (RN); and the name of the country where the imported product was processed or manufactured.[15] Fiber percentages may deviate by up to 3 percent of total fiber weight before the product is misbranded.[15] The FTC issues RNs only to firms residing in the United States, so a Bangladeshi factory cannot hold one and any RN on the label belongs to your buyer or another US firm; for a garment with a neck, the country-of-origin label goes at the inside center of the neck, on the front of the label in the FTC's guidance.[15][19] Under the Care Labeling Rule the manufacturer or importer must attach a permanent care label, visible or easily found at the point of sale, with a washing or a drycleaning instruction.[16]
Flammability. The Standard for the Flammability of Clothing Textiles (16 CFR part 1610) classifies textiles for clothing into three classes and bars Class 3, rapid and intense burning, from use in clothing; plain-surface fabrics of 2.6 ounces per square yard or more, and fabrics made entirely of acrylic, modacrylic, nylon, olefin, polyester or wool, are exempt from testing to support a guaranty.[17] Adult apparel is certified in a General Certificate of Conformity, but no GCC is required for adult apparel exempt from testing under section 1610.1(d).[20]
Children's wear carries more. Children's sleepwear falls under 16 CFR parts 1615 (sizes 0 to 6X) and 1616 (sizes 7 to 14), and every children's product needs a Children's Product Certificate issued by the importer or US manufacturer on test results from a CPSC-accepted third-party laboratory, listing the rules certified to, the date and place of manufacture and testing and the laboratory.[20][21] From July 8, 2026 importers of most regulated consumer products must eFile certificates of compliance with CBP through a Partner Government Agency (PGA) Message Set, so expect your buyer to ask for the test reports before the goods ship.[21] Children's upper outerwear in sizes 2T to 16 with drawstrings that do not conform to ASTM F1816-97 are deemed a substantial product hazard.[18]
Forced labor. Under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, CBP enforces a rebuttable presumption, in effect since June 21, 2022, that goods mined, produced or manufactured wholly or in part in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, or by an entity on the UFLPA Entity List, are prohibited from import under 19 U.S.C. 1307; the importer can overcome it only with clear and convincing evidence.[22] A garment sewn in Bangladesh is covered if its cotton, yarn or fabric traces to Xinjiang, and the burden of rebutting the presumption falls on your buyer as importer, so expect requests for purchase orders, invoices, mill certificates and transport documents for each stage from cotton to finished garment, tied to the UD and back-to-back LC. The US duties on Bangladeshi goods, what changed and when, are kept current on US tariffs on Bangladesh in 2026; find the HTS line in the HTS code finder and run the landed cost in the tariff simulator.
Pallets and crates must carry the ISPM 15 mark (IPPC logo, country code, facility number and HT or MB); noncompliant wood packaging draws an Emergency Action Notification and may force re-export.[25]
Getting paid: the four-month realization period, PRC, retention quota and the cash incentive
The prescribed period for repatriating export proceeds is four months from shipment, under Bangladesh Bank Notification FE 1/77-BB of April 16, 1977; if the full proceeds are not received in that period without Bangladesh Bank's special or general authorization, the exporter is liable to action under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1947, and the AD must obtain and forward your explanation for any non-realization or short realization.[1] Raw jute and jute goods may run up to 360 days against an irrevocable confirmed LC or under the open-account framework.[1]
Once the money is in, the AD issues the export proceeds realization certificate (PRC) from OEMS for direct exports, and from the import monitoring system for deemed exports; the Bond Commissionerate and the Duty Exemption and Drawback Office verify PRC signatures against lists the banks file with them, so the PRC is the document those offices check.[1] You may keep part of the proceeds in foreign currency in an Exporters' Retention Quota (ERQ) account: 30 percent of repatriated FOB value for high domestic value-added goods and 15 percent for goods with high import content such as apparel made from imported woven fabric, the latter raised from 7.5 percent by FEPD-1 Circular No. 23 of July 22, 2026.[1][3]
The cash incentive (export subsidy) is set by Bangladesh Bank circular for each fiscal year, sector by sector. For FY2026-27, FEPD-1 Circular No. 17 of July 5, 2026 sets the rates for 43 sectors for goods shipped from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027, and requires the applications to be audited by an external audit firm.[4] The rates and conditions move every year and depend on the product, the market and whether you use the bond facility, so read the current circular, and any later circular on the same subject, with your AD and your chartered accountant; we deliberately quote no rate here.
The export timeline: step, who does it, when, and the document it produces
Dates are relative to the vessel's departure from Chattogram. Booking cut-offs come from the carrier's booking confirmation and differ by carrier and depot; the EXP, customs, ISF and realization rows are legal deadlines.
| Step | Who | When | Document produced |
|---|---|---|---|
| ERC, bond license, EPB Textile Division enrollment, BGMEA or BKMEA membership | Exporter | Before the first order | ERC;[11] bond license[7] |
| Master export LC or sales contract received and reported to OEMS | Buyer's bank; your AD | On confirmation of the order | LC or contract[1] |
| UD issued; back-to-back LC opened for fabric and trims | BGMEA or BKMEA; your AD | After the master LC, before inputs are imported | UD;[9] back-to-back LC[2] |
| Booking confirmed; container stuffed at the off-dock or factory | Exporter and forwarder | Against the cargo-ready date and the depot cut-offs | Booking confirmation, packing list, seal number |
| Electronic EXP form generated in OEMS | Exporter through the AD | Before customs formalities | EXP number[1] |
| Bill of export lodged in ASYCUDA World with the enclosures | Exporter or its licensed C&F agent | Before loading | Bill of export[5][8] |
| Importer Security Filing | ISF Importer (your buyer or its agent) | No later than 24 hours before lading at the foreign port | ISF[12] |
| Entry outwards and port clearance with the export cargo declaration | Vessel master | At least 24 hours before departure | Export cargo declaration[5] |
| Shipment information reported in OEMS; signed EXP, certified bill of export and shipping documents to the AD | Exporter | Immediately on shipment; within 14 days of shipment | Certified EXP form[1] |
| Bill of lading and documents to the buyer's bank or buyer | AD (title document); exporter (other documents if the LC allows direct dispatch) | After shipment | Bill of lading, invoice, packing list, certificate of origin if required[1] |
| Proceeds realized and reported; PRC issued | Buyer; your AD | Within four months of shipment | PRC[1] |
| Cash incentive application audited and settled | Exporter through the AD; audit firm | After realization, under the fiscal-year circular | Audited claim[4] |