Duty waiver on date import to cost govt Tk 170m in revenue
Monday, 6 August 2007
FE Report
The government will lose tax revenue worth Tk 170 million (17 crore) due to the exemption of duty on date for two months to help the local consumers buy the product at reasonable prices during Ramadan, sources said.
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) recently approved the duty-free import of date and potato during the period from August 12 to October 15 next.
The board has exempted the 25 per cent duty on import of date for the period.
The government will not lose any revenue due to duty-free import of potato, sources, however, said.
Earlier, there had been government restriction on import of potato for consumption. The importers were only allowed to import seed potato at zero duty.
According to some sources, a section of unscrupulous traders have been importing potato for local consumption in the name of seed potato leaving the local potato growers to pay the price.
The importers, who are authorised by the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), will be allowed to bring in commodities, which are widely consumed during the month of Ramadan, the sources said.
The government is, however, under pressure to introduce specific duty on powered milk to keep its prices low in the local market.
In line with the upward trend of prices in the international markets, the prices of powdered milk increased by 25 per cent in the local market compared to that of the previous year.
In the current 2007-08 budget, the government has reduced duty to 15 per cent from 25 per cent on bulk import of powdered milk. It has also withdrawn the 4.0 per cent Infrastructure Development Surcharge (IDSC) on import of powdered milk. But the measures have left no impact on the local market.
The government will lose tax revenue worth Tk 170 million (17 crore) due to the exemption of duty on date for two months to help the local consumers buy the product at reasonable prices during Ramadan, sources said.
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) recently approved the duty-free import of date and potato during the period from August 12 to October 15 next.
The board has exempted the 25 per cent duty on import of date for the period.
The government will not lose any revenue due to duty-free import of potato, sources, however, said.
Earlier, there had been government restriction on import of potato for consumption. The importers were only allowed to import seed potato at zero duty.
According to some sources, a section of unscrupulous traders have been importing potato for local consumption in the name of seed potato leaving the local potato growers to pay the price.
The importers, who are authorised by the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), will be allowed to bring in commodities, which are widely consumed during the month of Ramadan, the sources said.
The government is, however, under pressure to introduce specific duty on powered milk to keep its prices low in the local market.
In line with the upward trend of prices in the international markets, the prices of powdered milk increased by 25 per cent in the local market compared to that of the previous year.
In the current 2007-08 budget, the government has reduced duty to 15 per cent from 25 per cent on bulk import of powdered milk. It has also withdrawn the 4.0 per cent Infrastructure Development Surcharge (IDSC) on import of powdered milk. But the measures have left no impact on the local market.