The government has removed the import duty on rice completely with an eye to keeping the prices of rice affordable and also to stockpiling the staple.
In a notification on Thursday, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) exempted the import of parboiled rice and non-aromatic white rice from all customs and regulatory duties.
The notification takes immediate effect.
Before importing rice at a concessional rate, written approval must be obtained for each consignment from an officer equivalent to the rank of joint secretary nominated by food ministry.
On October 29, the Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission recommended the complete withdrawal of import duty on rice to increase its supply in the local market and keep prices stable for disruptions to rice production in floods.
On October 20, the NBR reduced import duty to 15 per cent from 25 per cent, regulatory duty to 5.0 per cent from 25 per cent, and full withdrawal of 5.0 per cent advance tax.
Meanwhile, rice prices have surged by Tk 6.0-10 a kg in the last three months as coarse rice costs Tk 55-56, medium Tk 66-68 and finer at Tk 75-88 in loose form, according to the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh and city kitchen markets.
The current rice prices are 8.0-11 per cent higher than last year's, said the TCB.
Rice prices have posted a hike at a time when the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics recently published rice production data for fiscal year 2023-24. The production, as per the state statistical body, is an all-time high at 40.3-million tonnes.
However, twin floods during the July-August period have damaged more than 0.9-million tonnes of rice on crop fields, while stored rice at village homes in Noakhali and Cumilla regions also witnessed massive losses.
Following the loss, the government has made a move for zero-duty rice import.
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