Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- The government has extended the tenure of the current Pre-Shipment Inspection (PSI) agencies for three months, officials said.

The tenure of the existing four PSI companies will expire on December 31 while the revenue board will need more time to appoint fresh companies from the six short-listed companies, National Board of Revenue (NBR) officials said.

“We’ve failed to complete the appointment by December 31. That’s why we’ve extended the tenure till March 2010,” an NBR official said.

Currently, four companies-ITS, BIVAC, SGS and OMIC are providing their services in Bangladesh under five blocks.

BBN/SI/AD-27Dec10-11:44 am (BST)