The government has removed all customs and regulatory duties on onion import in its seamless efforts to ease the volatile spice market.
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) cut 10-per cent duties, earlier imposed as customs and regulatory ones, according to a gazette notification issued on Wednesday.
The NBR decision came following a suggestion from the Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission (BTTC), said insiders.
Last week, the BTTC proposed that the NBR withdraw duties on onion import with intent to stabilise soaring prices in the local market, according to commerce ministry sources.
In local markets, domestic onion now retail at Tk 140-150 and imported ones at Tk 120-130 a kg-a Tk 20-30 hike over the past two and half weeks.
According to the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh, the price for the local variety has increased by 30.23 per cent and that of the imported ones by 8.0 per cent during the period.
The BTTC attributes price escalations to factors like low production in India, increased import costs due to a 20-per cent export duty imposed by India and domestic production challenges caused by heavy rains affecting onion yields.
"These conditions have put huge pressures on the entire supply chain."
Alongside higher duty by India, one of the key sources of Bangladesh's onion imports, the international market has experienced a 116.49-per cent increase in onion prices over the past year.
According to commerce ministry, the national demand for onion is 2.6-2.7 million tonnes annually, with 75-80 per cent of this demand met by local production and the rest covered through imports, predominantly from India.
Meanwhile, electronic tax return filing by individual taxpayers has climbed to 1.0 million for the first time following massive initiatives made by the revenue board to popularise the system.
The income tax wing of the revenue board has introduced multiple services through developing e-mail, web page, YouTube channel and Facebook page to assist taxpayers file online tax returns.
Data available with the NBR on Wednesday showed this significant rise in the submission of online tax returns in just a couple of days.
An estimated 0.2-million taxpayers have already submitted their returns using the government's e-tax return portal.
A press statement of the NBR disclosed the data inviting taxpayers to avail this online service to get rid of "harassment" while visiting tax offices.
Recently, the NBR has upgraded the portal making it more efficient enough to provide services to taxpayers.
A taxpayer needs a biometric SIM, registered with his or her national identity (NID) number to file tax returns online.
In case of unavailability of a biometric SIM, the taxpayer will have to buy a new SIM to register in the portal.
To verify whether their SIM is biometric or not, a taxpayer can dial *16001#.
The NBR has groomed two officials, having expertise in IT, in each government ministry and department to assist their officials in filing returns online.
A helpline number (09643717171) was launched on September 12 to instantly answer the taxpayer's queries about electronic tax filings.
The deadline for submission of individual tax returns for the current tax year (2024-25) is scheduled to expire on 30 November 2024.
Using the system (www.etaxnbr.gov.bd), taxpayers will be able to pay taxes through debit card, credit card, internet banking and mobile banking.
They will also get copies of submitted tax returns, acknowledgement receipts, income tax certificates and TIN certificates, and be able to download e-returns of previous tax years.
Recently, the NBR has made online tax return submissions mandatory for different salaried taxpayers, including government employees, multinational companies, mobile phone operators and scheduled banks.
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