The National Board of Revenue (NBR) on Tuesday issued an SRO (Statutory Regulatory Order), waiving the entire import duty on onion with immediate effect.
The duty exemption will remain valid until next March, according to the SRO.
Earlier, finance ministry in a press release announced the withdrawal of the existing 5.0-per cent import duty on onion.
The withdrawal of import duty has come against the backdrop of a surge in the prices of onion in the local market for the past few days following an Indian ban on export of the spice.
The prices of onion, which has hit Tk 120 per kilogram at retail level, market sources said.
However, the government has taken steps like introduction of open market sale (OMS) of onion and monitoring of the market to help keep prices stable.
Last year, a similar ban on onion export by India pushed up the prices to a record high of Tk 300 per kg, creating a massive outcry.
UNB adds: Importers are incurring losses as most of the 925 tonnes of onion that came from India through Satkhira's Bhomra land port in the last three days are rotten. On Monday, 96MT onion in four trucks entered Bhomra through Ghojadanga land port of India.
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