The government has released the last and fourth tranche of cash incentives amounting to Tk 13.75 billion for major exporters for the current fiscal year.
The ministry of finance advised Thursday the Chief Accounts Officer of the Finance Division to release the funds in favour of the central bank to hand over the perks to the traders for a period from April 2015 to July 2015.
The local exporters have been advised to seek the cash by applying to the Bangladesh Bank through respective banks. They will receive the instalment of the cash incentives against their exports during the period.
Of the Tk 13.75 billion, the jute and jute-product sub-sector will get Tk 2.875 billion in the fourth instalment while the other sectors will receive the rest (Tk 10.875 billion).
Earlier, Bangladesh Bank (BB) demanded an additional amount of Tk 26 billion mainly to pay out the instalment of cash incentives as well as arrears for current fiscal (2014-15) to the major exporters. At present, about 14 export sectors are receiving the cash bonus on exports.
The sectors enjoying the benefits include apparel-manufacturing industries, frozen foods and fish, leather products, finished leather, agro-based products, agro-processing industry, sugarcane waste, bone paste, potato, meat, poultry, hatchery egg, ship and bicycle.
Under the incentive recipe, potato, halal meat and agro-products will get the highest 20.0 per cent cash subsidy.
The small and medium garment factories will get an additional 5.0 per cent subsidy, while 2.0 per cent will be provided for new products and new market expansion except the USA, Canada and the EU.
The export-oriented textiles sector will get 5.0 per cent alternative cash incentives instead of customs bond and duty-drawback facility.
The products which are made of elephant grass (hogla), paddy straw (khor) and sugarcane bark (akher chhobra) will get cash incentives at rates between 15.0 per cent and 20.0 per cent.
Exporters of bone dust and leather goods will get 15.0 per cent incentives, pet bottle, flakes, finished jute goods and products of light-engineering sector will get 10.0 per cent.
Among the other sectors, frozen shrimp and jute yarn will get 7.5 per cent and ship export 5.0 per cent cash subsidy.
As per the circular, the government will take legal actions against the exporters who, after examining export documents, would be found enjoying extra cash incentives from banks.
"The extra funds will be taken back from the exporters within a short time through legal process," it says.
mzrbd@yahoo.com
