"Too (much confusion) in the border is a cause of revenue loss to both countries," said C.M Shafi Sami, a former Bangladeshi high commissioner to India.
"Maybe the vast geography of India and negligence in policy decision deters trade in this region," Sami explained.
Sami was speaking at a summit on "Doing Business with Bangladesh" organised here Monday by the North East Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NECCI).
"Perhaps there is a fear in our minds, leading to too much of checking. A bad tariff regime is another reason for the not-so-good trade between the countries," said D.D. Ingti, commissioner of custom (preventive) in the northeastern region.
"This is costing us around Rs.2 billion a year. Trade concerns should supersede security concerns," Ingti said.
"Rather than too much of check and balance, we should trust each other for better economic cooperation in the region," he said.
"Even if we are keen to do more business, unnecessary security barriers are discouraging us to come to this region," complained Sohel Ahmed, a Bangladeshi industrialist.
The same was the case with industrialists in this part of India.
"Today we have more items in the informal trade basket than the formal trade basket and this needs to be checked," said M.K Mero, a senior official in India's commerce ministry.
Lack of a proper transit system, poor infrastructure and red tape in policy implementation were the other causes for poor India-Bangladesh trade, delegates to the meeting said.
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