BTMA plea to withdraw duty on raw materials, machinery

---

FE Report
A delegation of the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) met with Finance Adviser Mirza Azizul Islam Wednesday and requested him to withdraw the proposed import duty and value added tax (VAT) on raw materials and textile machinery for fiscal 2007-08.
"We have requested the finance adviser to withdraw the proposed duty and tax on textile machinery and raw materials. But he did not make any comment on this", Abdul Hai Sarkar, President of the BTMA told journalists after their meeting with the adviser.
The BTMA team, headed by its President Sarkar, met Mirza Azizul Islam at his Planning Commission office in Dhaka.
Mirza Azizul Islam, however, told the waiting journalists after the meeting that he would try to consider BTMA's proposals but declined to say anything more on the issue.
In the budget for fiscal 2007-08, the government has proposed a 10 per cent import duty and 15 per cent VAT on some textile raw materials. It also imposed 10 per cent import duty on capital machinery for textile sector, which has been enjoying zero-tariff facility.
BTMA President Sarker said: "If the duty on raw materials and textile machinery are not withdrawn, there will be an adverse impact on the export-oriented RMG sector as well as the on the national economy."
He said the imposition of duty on raw materials and capital machinery would discourage further investment in the RMG sector that contributes 76 per cent of the export earning.
According to BTMA proposals, imposition of import duty and VAT on a number of raw materials, including viscose and polyester staple fibre and acrylic, would affect the textile and home textile units badly.
"So the government should withdraw the duty and VAT and maintain status quo until 2012," the proposal said.
The textile mills association also requested the finance adviser to extend the tax-holiday facility for the textile industries up to 2012. Now, the industry is enjoying the tax holiday facility, which will end in June 2008.
The BTMA in its proposal also requested the adviser to treat the spinning and dyeing-printing-finishing industries as "textile industry" and also offer them tax-holiday facilities.