Shellac & Seedlac Exporter to Bangladesh — Petrapole–Benapole Guide

What Bangladeshi buyers order

Seedlac (Kusmi, Baisakhi or mixed)	Small refiners who melt or make button lac in-house, and economy polish. Invoice as seedlac, industrial, with impurity % and crop.
Button lac (gala)	Traditional polish, handicrafts and furniture finishing — the grade most Bangladeshi buyers know by name.
Shellac flakes (lemon, orange, garnet)	Furniture polish, sealers, inks and general coating — the volume product. Sold on colour and alcohol solubility.
Dewaxed shellac	Pale furniture films, food glazing and tablet coating — food or pharma use only when the COA supports it.

Never label seedlac as dewaxed food grade. Each grade has its own invoice description, bag marking and COA.

Where it is used

Furniture and wood finishing — the volume market. French polish, sealer and warm gloss on export furniture and domestic joinery, mostly with lemon and orange flakes and button lac. Buyers check colour from lot to lot, solubility in ethanol, and that the bags have not blocked in the heat. Read our button lac (gala) guide for Bangladeshi buyers.

Food glazing. Confectionery and coated nuts in Bangladesh follow the national food additive rules overseen by the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA), which align with the Codex listing for shellac (INS 904); BSTI standards and lab evidence may apply when the material goes into packaged food. Quote dewaxed shellac with a batch COA showing acid value, wax ≤ 0.2%, heavy metals and rosin absent. Halal questions come up because shellac is insect-derived — state the origin honestly.

Pharma and nutraceutical coating. Formulators working with the Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA) usually check pharmacopoeia-style limits (USP-NF or Ph. Eur.) for tablet polish and moisture-barrier films. A dewaxed lot tested against a named pharmacopoeia closes faster than a verbal "pharma grade" — keep microbiological and residual-solvent data ready.

The land route: Petrapole–Benapole

Petrapole (India) – Benapole (Bangladesh) is the main land crossing between the two countries, about 80 km from Kolkata. Lac from the Jharkhand belt is a natural truck load: processing unit → Kolkata belt → Petrapole Integrated Check Post → Benapole → Dhaka, Jessore or Khulna.

• Indian side: the shipping bill is filed on ICEGATE and Indian Customs examines the cargo at Petrapole.
• Bangladesh side: the importer's clearing (C&F) agent files the bill of entry at Benapole against the LC and the importer's IRC.
• Duties and taxes: customs duty, VAT and advance tax apply as per the current Bangladesh tariff for the HS 1301 line — confirm with the importer's C&F agent.
• Timing: queues at the border change with season and policy. Build a few extra days into the first shipment and into the LC's latest shipment date.
• Policy check: both countries changed land-port rules for certain goods in 2025, including restrictions on some product lines and on third-country transshipment. Lac and shellac were not among the headline items, but check the current land customs station notifications before booking the truck — and do not plan to route cargo onward to third countries through this border.

Sea alternative: Kolkata or Haldia to Chattogram, then by road to Dhaka. It suits Chattogram-based importers, full containers that can wait, or periods of long border queues — but it takes longer than the land run from Kolkata.

Step by step: your first shipment via Petrapole–Benapole

1. Agree the grade and documents. Grade, quantity, Incoterm (FCA, CPT or DAP), and whether a SAFTA or APTA certificate of origin is needed.
2. Open the LC. The importer's bank opens an irrevocable letter of credit; check the latest shipment date leaves time for border queues.
3. Sample and COA. Approve a pre-shipment sample; the lot's COA carries the same lot numbers as the bags.
4. Pack and mark. Bags marked with lot number, grade and weights that match the packing list.
5. Export clearance in India. The CHA files the shipping bill on ICEGATE; Indian Customs examines the cargo at Petrapole.
6. Cross the border. The truck moves from the Petrapole Integrated Check Post to Benapole.
7. Import clearance in Bangladesh. The importer's C&F agent files the bill of entry against the LC and the importer's IRC, and pays duty and taxes.
8. Deliver and store. Move the goods to a dry godown the same day; keep a retained sample in India.

The full document set is listed in shellac export documentation from India.

Incoterms: sea terms do not apply by road

FOB, CFR and CIF are sea-only terms. For the land route, use:

• FCA — we hand the goods to your carrier at a named point, such as Petrapole.
• CPT — we pay road freight to a named place; risk passes at handover to the first carrier.
• DAP — we deliver to your named place; you handle import clearance and duty.

Use CIF Chattogram only when the goods go by sea. More in Incoterms for resin buyers.

Documents the bank and customs will check

Commercial invoice (USD)	HS 1301, grade, net and gross weight, Incoterm — wording identical to the LC.
Packing list with lot numbers	Bag count matching the truck, lot numbers matching the COA.
Shipping bill	Indian export clearance under the exporter's IEC.
Transport document	Truck consignment note for the land route; bill of lading for sea to Chattogram.
Certificate of origin	SAFTA or APTA certificate if the importer claims preference; otherwise an ordinary certificate of origin.
Export quality certificate	India's export policy for shellac and all forms of lac requires registration with SHEFEXIL and a quality certificate — confirm the current requirement before shipment.
Batch COA and SDS	Food and pharma lots: wax, acid value, heavy metals. Furniture lots: colour, moisture, insolubles.
Letter of credit	Most first orders run on an irrevocable LC — align the latest shipment date and partial-shipment terms with the border timing.

A Dhaka bank will reject a missing certificate of origin faster than customs will question a short COA — get the LC documents exactly right.

Packing and storage

Seedlac usually travels in 50 kg gunny bags and flakes in 25 kg bags with inner liners. Heat at the crossing or in a tin-roofed warehouse, and monsoon humidity, make shellac block — do not leave the truck in the sun, and move the goods to a dry godown the day they clear. Keep a retained sample of each lot in India. See why shellac blocks in storage.

What we supply to Bangladeshi buyers

Bangladesh is a priority market for us: seedlac, button lac (gala) and shellac flakes for furniture and further processing, and dewaxed shellac for pale finishes and coating, plus lac dye for natural-dye textile studios — each with a batch COA, shipped by road via Petrapole–Benapole or by sea from Kolkata. Tell us the grade, quantity and delivery point when you request a quote, and we will quote FCA, CPT or DAP for the land route.

Quick answers

Which Incoterms apply to shellac shipped to Bangladesh by road? FOB, CFR and CIF are sea-only terms. For the Petrapole–Benapole land route, use FCA (for example FCA Petrapole), CPT or DAP. CIF Chattogram applies only when the goods go by sea.

Is the SAFTA duty reduction automatic for shellac? No. The Bangladeshi importer claims it with a valid certificate of origin, and only if the tariff line is covered. Check with the importer's clearing agent before putting SAFTA on the documents.

Can seedlac and dewaxed shellac go on one truck? Only if the invoice, packing list and COAs are split by grade and the bags are clearly marked. Two separate lots with separate documents is safer.

How far is Petrapole from Kolkata? About 80 km by road.

What does the importer need in Bangladesh? An import registration certificate (IRC), a letter of credit through their bank, and a C&F agent at Benapole to file the bill of entry.

This page summarises trade practice as of September 2026. Confirm current land customs station notices, the Bangladesh tariff, BFSA/BSTI/DGDA scope, SAFTA rules and India's export policy notes before the first shipment. It is not legal advice.