How long exporters have to bring proceeds home
The sentence in Circular 26
FEPD-1 Circular No. 26 of 30 July 2026 is the consolidated export circular. Part A, paragraph 8, is headed as the prescribed period to realise export proceeds. It says the prescribed period for repatriating export proceeds is four months, and it cites Bangladesh Bank Notification No. FE 1/77-BB dated 16 April 1977. That is the number to put in an EXP follow-up diary. It is not “about 120 days” as a slogan. It is the period the circular states, counted as that circular and the notification require.
If the period is missed
The same paragraph says that if the full proceeds of a shipment are not received within the period, then, without special or general authorisation from Bangladesh Bank, the exporter is exposed to action under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1947. An AD that keeps renewing a hope on the file without that authorisation is not extending the law. The authorisation has to be Bangladesh Bank’s, special or general. A buyer’s email is not that authorisation.
Raw jute and jute goods
Paragraph 8(2) allows a longer repatriation period for raw jute and jute goods, up to 360 days, against an irrevocable confirmed letter of credit or under open account as the circular’s Part D outlines. The AD has to do extended due diligence, including that the price is internationally competitive and that any usance interest loaded into the price is at a rate commensurate with the market in that currency. The 360-day sentence is not a general extension for garments, frozen food, or leather. Those stay on the four-month rule unless another paragraph you have actually read says otherwise.
How the money may come
The circular requires export receipts to come through an authorised dealer, in freely convertible foreign currency, including the currencies that paragraph lists. This page does not reproduce the currency list as a closed set beyond what you read in the circular. The operational point is the channel: an AD, not a private overseas account, and not a netting arrangement the circular does not allow. The EXP form is the declaration. Circular 26 says exports, unless exempted, must be declared on the EXP form.
Link to the import leg
Where the exporter also runs back-to-back import LCs, the import opening rules are in Circular 30, Part G. The export proceeds rule does not move to Circular 30. Keep the two files cross-referred and the two clocks separate. Four months for the proceeds. The master LC’s shipment validity is a different date.
Source
Bangladesh Bank, FEPD-1 Circular No. 26, 30 July 2026, Part A, paragraph 8. Quote in the portal’s source text: the prescribed period for repatriating export proceeds is four months, vide Bangladesh Bank Notification No. FE 1/77-BB dated 16 April 1977. Open the cited source.
Frequently asked questions
What is the ordinary period?
Four months from shipment, as Part A paragraph 8 of FEPD-1 Circular No. 26 states it, referring to Notification No. FE 1/77-BB of 16 April 1977.
What if the money is not in within four months?
The exporter needs Bangladesh Bank’s special or general authorisation. Otherwise the circular records exposure to action under the FER Act, 1947.
Is there a longer period for jute?
Yes, for raw jute and jute goods, up to 360 days, on the conditions that same paragraph states, including the type of LC or open account and the AD’s due diligence.