Sohel Parvez

Bangladesh’s rice imports fell to a nearly 40-year low in the fiscal year 2019-20 thanks to farmers’ endeavour to increase the yields of the main crop and allow the nation to be self-sufficient in the cereal production.

The much-cherished Sonali Bag scheme, which aims to make polymer containers from jute, will continue despite the closure of 25 state-run jute and non-jute mills on the first day of the current month.

Private millers are looking to utilise much of their capacity to increase the production of jute goods to cash in on the void created in the domestic and international markets for the closure of all the 22 state-run jute mills.

Diamond World has made history as the leading jewellery house has become the first company from Bangladesh to import gold bars through a legal channel to cater for both local and foreign markets.

Farmers are set to start harvesting jute by the end of this month and for the first time since Bangladesh’s independence, none of the natural fibre will be bought by the world’s largest state-owned jute goods maker and exporter, the Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC).

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With the Covid-19 pandemic wrecking lives and livelihoods, the government has renewed its focus and stepped up thrust on boosting production of Aus and Aman rice to ensure adequate availability of staple food in the country and slash dependence on the global market.

The VAT Intelligence yesterday withdrew its directive that had asked banks to provide information on discrepancies in turnover figures shown by potential borrowers in returns and annual financial statements.

Much has been said about the modernisation and automation of the value-added tax system in Bangladesh over the last decade. Yet, the automation of the VAT administration is halfway, although the project’s tenure is supposed to come to its end this year.

The revenue authority has sought to tax companies’ promotional expenditure exceeding 0.50 per cent of their turnover, an unprecedented move that has left firms flustered.

The revenue authority has withdrawn duty-free import privilege for furnace oil in order to discourage establishment of power plants using the fuel and plug annual revenue losses of Tk 2,000 crore.

Revenue collection fell massively for the second consecutive month in May as incomes and demand for goods and services crashed because of the lengthy shutdown put in place to battle the Covid-19 pandemic.

Businesses are worried that some proposed changes in the value-added tax (VAT) law will increase their costs and discourage them from seeking justice against inflated revenue claims by field officials of the National Board of Revenue (NBR).

In the wake of a sluggish progress in the government’s Boro procurement programme, the food ministry has lifted the ceiling for paddy and wheat purchase from an individual farmer to six tonnes from the previous three tonnes.

The government’s decision to slash the advance tax (AT) when importing raw materials from 5 per cent to 4 per cent for the upcoming fiscal year will encourage local manufacturers by reducing their financial burden.

Earlier this week, an extraordinary notice from the Bangladesh Association of Banks (BAB), a forum of bank sponsors, instructed lenders to cut the salaries of staff who draw a gross salary of more than Tk 40,000 monthly by 15%.

Netflix and Amazon Prime have become household names in Bangladesh as the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has forced people to take shelter at home with little to do other than watch movies.

Over the past year, manufacturers have had to pay advance tax (AT) when importing raw materials that resulted in increased operating costs while also blocking working capital for various companies like mobile phone and refrigerator makers.

Onion prices remained steady despite the government’s decision to impose a 5 per cent tariff on imports of the key cooking ingredient to encourage local producers and reduce import dependency.

The revenue authority may get an additional Tk 11,000 crore next fiscal year because of the new value-added tax (VAT) and supplementary duty (SD) measures, according to an estimate by the National Board of Revenue (NBR).