Finance adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed says his government is not able to pay attention to each and every problem in the country.
"We can't take care of everything," he said in reply to a query on the impacts of proposed gas price hike for industrial consumers.
Mr Ahmed talked to the media after a meeting of the Advisers Council Committee on Government Purchase at the secretariat on Thursday.
He was asked whether the factory owners' suffering from the proposed gas price hike would further mount or not.
"We've lowered (value-added tax) on (liquefied petroleum) gas," he said.
Amid a severe gas crisis in the country, the government last Monday exempted a 7.5-per cent additional VAT on LP gas at the production stage to help make LP gas available and affordable.
Earlier, Petrobangla submitted a proposal to the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) to revise gas prices for industrial and captive power users to actual cost of imported LNG instead of a fixed rate for them.
If the BERC accepts new pricing structure, gas price for industrial and captive users will be almost double.
Against this backdrop, the country's businesses have already denounced the government's move to raise gas price.
Regarding the impacts of a recent hike in VAT on a good number of products, the adviser said, "Maybe there is some impact on prices, but the hike is mainly due to the manipulation on supply chain."
The government is revising VAT on some products at this stage as they affect people's purchase power, according to Mr Ahmed.
Meantime, the committee approved imports of LNG, fertiliser, rice, soybean oil, sugar and lentil, among others, with the finance adviser in the chair.
According to Cabinet Division officials, the meeting approved the import of two LNG cargos from M/S OQ Trading Ltd, UAE, and M/S Vitol Asia Pvt Ltd, Singapore.
One cargo will cost Tk 6.927 billion and the other Tk 6.630 billion. Each unit of LNG will cost $14.45 and $13.82 respectively.
The committee also approved procurement of 50,000 tonnes of white rice from Pakistan under the G2G arrangement at Tk 3.04 billion.
The Trading Corporation of Pakistan will supply the rice to Bangladesh's food directorate with each tonne costing $499.
The meeting also approved the import of 50,000 tonnes of non-aromatic rice from India.
The M/s Gurudeo Exports Corporation Pvt Ltd, India, will supply the rice to Bangladesh's food directorate at Tk 2.77 billion with each tonne of rice costing $454.14.
The meeting also approved a proposal to buy 10,000 tonnes of lentil, 15,000 tonnes of sugar, 22-million litres of palm oil and 33-million litres of soybean oil.
Later, the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) will sell the products at subsidised rates among the people in need.
Also, the committee approved two proposals to import 30,000 tonnes of MoP fertiliser and 40,000 tonnes of DAP fertiliser for the Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation.
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