Govt moves to assess outcome of cash incentives against export items
Rezaul Karim | Friday, 3 October 2014
The government has initiated a move to assess the outcome and impact of its cash incentive against some export items, officials said.
Under the move, the ministry of finance (MoF) has decided to prepare a study paper on the effectiveness and success of cash incentive. In this connection, an inter-ministerial meeting will be held on October 09 next at the MoF. Representatives from the ministries, departments and corporations concerned have been requested to attend the meeting.
The government wants to help boost the country's export sector. So, the ministry of finance (MoF) has taken the initiative to examine the overall performance of cash incentives/subsidies against the export items that the government has long been providing, sources said.
The potential export items are likely to get cash incentive or subsidy and several others may be excluded from the list in the future.
"The government is eager to provide cash incentive/subsidy but wants to know its overall outcome or subsidy benefit", a MoF official said.
At present, the Bangladesh Bank (BB) is offering cash incentive to 14 sectors covering more than 150 goods and products against their export volume in the current fiscal year (FY) 2014-15 so that they can enjoy additional competitive edge on the international market, sources said.
Besides, the government has recently decided to give 5 per cent cash incentive against export of frozen fish for the current financial year, they added.
The export-oriented local textile sector, exporters of shrimp, jute yarn, handmade products like hogla, hay and sugarcane fibre, bone dust, light engineering products, halal meat, potato, ships, textiles and pet bottle-flex are enjoying the benefits of cash incentive for the FY 2014-15.
The government provided cash incentives of more than Tk 25.88 billion in the last FY, Tk 24.0 billion in 2012-13, Tk 27.50 billion in 2011-12 and Tk 18.40 billion in 2010-11 against the selected export items, according to the MoF data.