New foreign airline remittance regulation will reduce documentation hassle
Foreign Exchange Operation Department of the Bangladesh Bank recently simplified its rules on surplus earnings remittance by foreign airlines
The recent simplification of Bangladesh Bank's rules on surplus earnings remittance by foreign airlines will reduce the hassle of documentation, Selim RF Hussain, managing director of Brac Bank said on Thursday.
He made the remark while speaking at a workshop for the foreign airlines operating in Bangladesh on the revised regulations for remitting their surplus earnings.
The foreign airline operators had been demanding simplification of the remittances for quite sometime before the circular came, said a media statement by the bank.
Adhering to their demands, the Foreign Exchange Operation Department of the Bangladesh Bank issued the SPA Circular No 1 on 3 September this year, simplifying its rules on surplus earnings remittance by foreign airlines.
Mentioning the initiative, Selim RF Hussain, said, "We are happy that the central bank has paid attention to simplify the remittance process of airlines. It will not only reduce the hassle of piles of documentation that was a necessity earlier, but will also drive us towards embracing the digital way of work," he said.
The Bangladesh Bank, in its SPA Circular No 1, has allowed the calculation of surplus earnings of the foreign airline operators based on passage and freight collections.
Besides, banks were allowed to remit on account of surplus earnings against passage and freight based on actual realisation. The remittance would now be allowed upon all collections, supported by bank statements.
The Bangladesh Bank has also scrapped the requirement of producing hard copies as proof of sales of tickets.
Joint Director Nabanita Dey and Deputy Director Salma Akhtar of the Foreign Exchange Operation Department were guest speakers at the workshop.
Shaheen Iqbal, head of treasury and financial institutes of Brac Bank, made a presentation on Bangladesh's economic outlook amidst the post-pandemic situation and highlighted the opportunities that will help the airline industry recover from the Covid-19 impact.
Tareq Refat Ullah Khan, deputy managing director and head of corporate banking at Brac Bank, welcomed the participants to the workshop held at the bank's head office.
Around 25 participants from different airlines, including representatives from the leading airline companies operating in Bangladesh, participated in the workshop.