Why a Bangladeshi order starts with the DGDA
In Bangladesh, a medical device counts as a drug under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act 2023, so it must be registered with the Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA) before it can be imported, sold, or even kept in stock. Before anyone talks about freight, the first check is whether the model already has DGDA registration. The second is timing, because the monsoon and two cyclone seasons shape when a crate should travel to Chattogram or Dhaka.
We're MediGear. Our medical equipment distribution business is registered in England and Wales, and healthcare buyers in more than 80 countries send us requests for certified equipment, which we quote, document and ship. A model number or a description of the clinical need is enough to start. We look for verified makers who can supply it, work through the points a shipment to Bangladesh will raise and return a quote your doctors and purchasing staff can act on. Our buyers page takes requests without any account or sign-up.
Bangladeshi hospitals and other buyers we quote for
We quote for public, private and research buyers across the country:
- Medical college hospitals, from Dhaka Medical College Hospital, which opened in 1946, to the Chittagong, Rajshahi and Mymensingh hospitals
- Bangladesh Medical University in Shahbag, Dhaka, with its Super Specialised Hospital
- Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College and Hospital, which grew to 1,350 beds when construction finished in 2022
- Private hospitals such as Square Hospitals and Evercare, and the Labaid group with its cardiac hospital
- Diagnostic centres and private clinics registered with the health directorate
- International health research institutes based in Dhaka
- Importers, distributors and other medical equipment suppliers in Bangladesh that hold a DGDA licence
Buying routes differ. In Bangladesh's public health system, purchasing must now run on e-GP under the Public Procurement Rules 2025, and the health directorate has used it for international tenders. A quote for a public hospital therefore has to follow a formal bidding process. A private diagnostic centre in Sylhet replacing one of its ultrasound systems needs a clear quote and an importer who can file the approvals. If a donor is funding the order as medical support to Bangladesh, tell us which body will sign it. Tell us which route applies, and the quote will follow it.
DGDA registration and import approval
The Drugs and Cosmetics Act 2023 bars anyone from making, importing, selling, distributing, stocking or displaying a drug, and so a device, without registration from the DGDA. Sale also needs a marketing authorisation. Importing needs a licence, and a registered product may not be imported without the DGDA's prior approval. The DGDA must publish its list of registered products on its website.
If the model you want is not registered, the applicant must first supply data on quality, safety, and efficacy, and the DGDA may inspect the maker's factory. Under the Import Policy Order 2026 to 2029, medical and surgical apparatus may be imported on the strength of DGDA approval, and DGDA certificates now reach customs through the Bangladesh Single Window. We are not a Bangladeshi importer or registration holder and cannot advise on regulatory questions. Each quote lists the unit's certificates for your importer to use.
BAERA approval for X-ray and CT units
Medical imaging systems that produce ionising radiation are regulated by the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority (BAERA). Under the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Regulatory Act 2012, no authorised person or operator may import, possess, use, repair, market or transfer equipment that generates ionising radiation without BAERA approval. The authority grants licences, permits, registrations and certificates.
The Act sets out approval in stages, from siting and design through building, installation and commissioning to operation, and approval for one stage does not entitle you to the next. Rules made in 1997 under the earlier Act carry on until regulations under the 2012 Act replace them, so ask BAERA which apply to your room while the quote is still open. We'll send the technical documents the application needs.
Settling the specification for a Bangladeshi site
Before quoting, we check these points with the maker:
- Plugs and supply. The IEC lists plug types C, D, G and K as used in Bangladesh. Check the supply voltage and its stability at the site with your engineer, and ask whether the unit should run behind a stabiliser or UPS.
- Labels and manuals. The Import Policy Order asks for packaged-goods information in Bengali, English or both. Request the service manual and electrical safety data alongside the quote, and testing can begin when the unit lands.
- Consumables. Ask how long the maker will keep probes, filters and cartridges in supply. If the order includes consumables, list them line by line. We can also say which spare parts and consumables are available to reorder through us.
- Records and network. Ask your IT team to confirm the DICOM and HL7 options before the unit goes onto the hospital network.
Anything unclear goes back to the maker before we quote, since a voltage or language point is far easier to settle now than at the port in Chattogram.
Release papers and timber rules
Bangladesh Customs lists the papers it needs for release, and we prepare our share of them:
- Commercial invoice and packing list, matched to your letter of credit if you use one
- Bill of lading or air waybill
- Certificate of origin for the customs file
- The maker's certificates, ready for the DGDA file
- Packages marked with the country of origin and, unless the importer is exempt, the importer's details
Timber packing has its own rule. Under the plant quarantine rules of 2018, no release order may be issued for goods packed in raw or solid wood that has not been treated to ISPM 15. Goods that fail can be sent back or seized and destroyed, with the importer bearing the outlay. For that reason, we ask makers for treated, stamped crates.
Four steps to a Bangladeshi port or airport
- Request the quote. Use the RFQ form or email with the model, quantity, the facility and the importer who will hold the approvals.
- Read the documented quote. For catalogue items, it usually arrives within 48 hours, with the product, lead time, certification, and route set out.
- Approve it in writing. Only your written approval turns the quote into an order.
- Freight into Bangladesh. Shipments of medical supplies to Bangladesh can arrive by sea tatChattogram or Mongla, or by air tatHazrat Shahjalal in Dhaka, Shah Amanat in Chattogram, r Osmani in Sylhet.
We deliver to whichever port or airport you nominate, and from there the import is yours. Your clearing and forwarding agent, or the importer, lodges the declaration through ASYCUDA World, as Bangladesh Customs explains in its notes on customs clearance. You then arrange the last leg to site. The monsoon runs from June to September and the cyclone seasons from March to May and October to November, so plan shipping dates around them.
Ordering one unit, a ward or a pre-owned model
There is no need to order in bulk, since most catalogue lines can be quoted one at a time for a clinic replacing a single monitor or autoclave, or adding diagnostic tools. We also quote multi-line requests for new wards and public tenders; see government tender for that work, and ward planners can look at Hospital Furniture and Fixtures. If a tender covers the supply and installation of medical equipment, send the whole schedule, and we will mark the lines we can quote. Our refurbished range covers pre-owned units, but the rules on importing them are not clear from published sources. Before you order a refurbished MRI or any other used unit, your importer should confirm the position with the DGDA.
Disclaimer
We wrote this page as general information for buyers in Bangladesh. It does not offer to supply anything, and it is no substitute for legal, regulatory or customs advice. Quotes depend on what makers can supply, and an order is firm only once both sides confirm it in writing. A device can be imported only once it is registered with the DGDA and the import is approved, and X-ray equipment may also need approval from BAERA under the 2012 Act. You handle import clearance and the regulatory side of your purchase. We are not a Bangladeshi importer and do not have DGDA registration.
Is a model number to hand?
Send a model number or data sheet, and name the hospital and the Bangladeshi port or airport. For emergency medical supplies, add the date you need them, and we'll check the route. We'll reply with a quote and the certificates your importer needs.
Frequently Asked Questions
No account is needed: send the model or specification through the RFQ form on the buyer's page, or by email to connect@medigear.uk. Whether you write from a medical college hospital or a private clinic, the quotation comes back by email.
Yes, and so does every other medical device. Under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act 2023, a medical device counts as a drug, so it must be registered with the DGDA before import, sale or stocking. Importing a registered product also needs the DGDA's prior approval, so check the status before you order.
The applicant would need to register it first, with data on quality, safety and efficacy, and the DGDA may inspect the manufacturer's factory. Check with your importer or a regulatory adviser before committing. A comparable model that already holds a registration may also suit you, and we can suggest one.
It can. Under the 2012 Act, an authorised person or operator needs BAERA approval to import, possess, use or transfer equipment that generates ionising radiation, though exemptions can be gazetted. That reaches X-ray machines, a manual X-ray machine as much as a digital one, unless an exemption applies. Approvals come in stages, so talk to BAERA early.
Chattogram and Mongla take sea freight, and air freight lands at Hazrat Shahjalal in Dhaka, Shah Amanat in Chattogram or Osmani in Sylhet. Once the goods reach your chosen destination, clearance and the trip to your hospital are in your hands.
Your clearing and forwarding agent, or the importer, lodges the goods declaration through ASYCUDA World. We provide the invoice, packing list, transport document, certificate of origin, and product certificates; DGDA certificates are submitted through the Bangladesh Single Window.
Yes. Most catalogue lines can be bought one at a time, and we flag any minimum order the manufacturer sets as soon as we know it. If the last stretch is by river boat or a rough road, say so, and we will ask for packing to match.
The manufacturer's stock, whether the unit is new or refurbished, how quickly the DGDA and BAERA approvals come through, and the season all play a part. Lead time and route are on every quotation, and we send email updates from dispatch until the unit reaches the port or airport.