Garment accessories makers for cutting source tax to 0.50pc

Garment accessories makers have urged the government to cut the source tax on export proceeds to 0.50 per cent from the existing 1.0 per cent in the proposed budget and continue it for the next five years.
Bangladesh Garment Accessories and Packaging Manufacturers and Exporters Association at a post-budget reaction at its headquarters in the capital also demanded an equal bonded warehouse facility as provided to the ready-made garments (RMG) sector.
The trade body also called for an import ban on the accessories and packaging goods that are domestically produced.
The association sought support from the government to build and develop the high-quality garment accessories and packaging industries in the country as well.
Speaking at the function, A K M Mostafa Salim, acting president of the garment accessories and packaging makers' association, said the proposed budget for the fiscal year of 2023-2024 did not give any specific direction about how to tone down the complexities relating to the dollar crunch caused by the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war, the high price of raw materials and the opening of letters of credit (L/Cs).
Despite the equal opportunities for this sector kept and mentioned in the national industrial policy, export policy and textile policy, garment accessories makers are yet to receive such facilities, he said.
As a result, the expected development of this sector has not yet been seen to deal with the potential challenges of the transition to a developing country in 2027, Mr Salim added.
Replying to a question, the acting president of the association said the export earnings from the garment accessories sector have now reached nearly $3.0-4.0 million.
However, no actual official figure is available so far, he stated.
The RMG industry has turned into a huge export market by contributing 83 per cent to the national exports due to the availability of affordable prices and the latest garment accessories and packaging products with the help of garment accessories and packaging makers, he added.
The association's Vice President (Finance) Monir Uddin and another Vice President Zahir Uddin Alamgir, among others, were present at the event.

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