Cut customs duty on scrap import

Bangladesh Auto Re-rolling and Steel Mills Association (BARSMA) has called on the government to lower customs duty on the import of scrap, a core raw material for steel, and the Advance Income Tax (AIT) to contain the skyrocketing prices of rods in the local market.

The association leaders demanded that the customs duty be reduced to Tk 500 from Tk 1,500 for one tonne of scrap and the Advance Income Tax to Tk 400 from Tk 800.

"The production cost of steel rod has increased abnormally in the last three months," Manwar Hossain, chairman of the BARSMA, said at a press briefing at the National Press Club in the city on Thursday, said a statement.

Rod prices are spiralling with the soaring prices of melting scrap in the international market in the wake of USA's announcement of 25 per cent and 10 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminium imports respectively.

The price of each tonne of scrap, which was $310 in the third quarter of 2017, now stands at $435, according to Manwar Hossain, also the managing director of Anwar Ispat Ltd.

Bangladesh requires 4.0 million tonnes of scrap to make billet for manufacturing steel, according to the BARSMA.

Of the sum, 3.5 million tonnes are imported and the rest is collected from ship-breakers and domestic market, said Tapan Sengupta, executive director of BSRM, one of the biggest steel manufacturers in Bangladesh.

Besides, the production costs for each tonne of steel have increased by Tk 1,708 due to the appreciation of the dollar against the taka and Tk 700 for the increase of interest rate from 9 per cent to 12 per cent, Hossain said.