A ministry-of-commerce proposal for slashing taxes on three essentials to cool prices ahead of Ramadan is under consideration of the government's revenue authority.
The mass-consumed commodities during the month fasting and religious festivals are sugar, onion and dates, which all bears high import taxes aggregating up to 58 per cent.
A senior official of the MoC said they had requested the National Board of Revenue (NBR) to cut down the taxes, including regulatory duty (RD), on those three products.
"We have also started move to import some essential commodities through the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) from India to create a buffer stock for safeguarding additional demands for Ramadan," he said.
Currently, import of sugar from India is banned for countries that include Bangladesh.
The commerce ministry requested the NBR to cut taxes on import of onions to 5.0 per cent from 15 per cent, reduce specific duty on import of sugar--both crude and refined--and waive RD on import of dates.
Prices of some of those commodities could be reduced by up to Tk 25 per kilogram by lowering taxes, he said.
Addressing a press conference Thursday on the occasion of the International Customs Day 2023, NBR chairman Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Muneem said the NBR received the MoC letter and was working on this.
He wouldn't name the names of the items under NBR consideration for tax cut.
Dr Masrur Reaz, Founder and Chairman of the Policy Exchange Bangladesh, appreciates this and suggests cuts in taxes on more produces for taming the already-overheating market.
"It's a welcome step to rein in prices of essential commodities in Ramadan," he says and calls for reducing taxes on both food and non-food items to tame inflation as the NBR is receiving "higher taxes due to escalation of those prices".
The government should consider the tax cut for at least six to 12 months for food and non-food items to give some relief to the local consumers, he adds.
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