Bhutan’s debut transit cargo via Chattogram held up at Burimari pending Indian clearance

Bhutan’s first trial transit consignment routed through Chattogram Port has hit an unexpected snag at the Burimari land port, after required paperwork from India failed to arrive in time. The shipment, which reached the Bangladesh–India border early Saturday, has been unable to move onward to Chengrabandha due to a missing confirmation letter sought by Indian Customs.

Manuma Shipping Lines Executive Director Mohammad Rafsan said the delay resulted from a combination of highway congestion and the weekend closure of Bhutanese government offices. Indian authorities requested an additional verification document from Bhutan, but with offices shut on Saturday and Sunday, the paperwork could not be issued, leaving the cargo stranded at the border.

Bangladeshi officials have completed all necessary customs formalities, and the freight forwarder expects the shipment to resume its journey once Indian Customs receives Bhutan’s letter on Monday.

The trial shipment—carrying 6,530 kilograms of consumer goods such as shampoo, dried palm, iced tea, chocolate and juice for Bhutan’s Abit Trading—is the first to move under the March 2023 Agreement on the Movement of Traffic-in-Transit. The pact enables Bhutan to use Bangladeshi ports and road networks to access overseas markets for the first time on a formal basis.

The container, which arrived in Chattogram on 22 September, sat idle for nearly two months while clearance procedures involving multiple agencies were ironed out. Those approvals were finalized last week, allowing Bhutan’s agent, NM Trading Corporation, to begin the release process.

Under the transit protocol, the cargo is required to move from Chattogram to Burimari, then cross into India at Changrabandha before heading to Phuentsholing. Because the route passes through Indian territory, approval from Indian Customs is essential at every stage.

Part of the earlier delays stemmed from coordination lapses: Bhutan loaded the shipment on 8 September and notified Dhaka, but the container arrived in Chattogram before Bangladesh’s commerce ministry could alert the National Board of Revenue. Customs instructions were issued only on 17 November, followed by transport toll guidelines three days later.

Bangladesh will earn revenue through Chattogram Customs, the port authority and the Road Transport and Highways Division, including charges for documentation, scanning, security, escort services and weight-based road tolls. For this 6.5-tonne load, the combined charges amount to several thousand taka over the 684-kilometer route to Burimari.

Officials expect the holdup to clear once Indian Customs receives Bhutan’s paperwork on Monday, enabling the landmark trial shipment to continue toward Bhutan and marking a critical step in operationalizing the new transit corridor.