Bill on governing travel agency business passed in parliament

The Bangladesh Travel Agency (Registration and Regulation) (Amendment) Bill, 2020 has been passed in parliament, keeping a provision of maximum six months' imprisonment or Tk5 lakh fine or both in the case of violation of any provision under the proposed law.

State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism M Mahbub Ali moved the bill and it was passed by voice vote on Monday.

The bill has a provision saying that a travel agency can renew its licence within six months even after the expiry of the stipulated time on payment of a penalty, can open branch offices at home and abroad, and hand over its ownership.

It also says if any travel agency works as a recruiting agency, it will be an offence and the travel agency will be fined for doing so.

“If any travel agency wants to deal with visa or recruitment, it will have to take separate licences to do that.”

The draft bill included the provisions of ownership transfer and establishment of branches outside the country considering the global perspective of the business.