Newsprint import duty to ruin industry
Noab tells Muhith
The Newspaper Owners' Association of Bangladesh (Noab) has expressed concern over a proposal of tax rise on newsprint imports in the proposed national budget for fiscal year 2013-14.
If the proposed duty remains in place, the newspaper industry will be ruined, a Noab delegation led by its president Mahbubul Alam said at a meeting with Finance Minister AMA Muhith yesterday.
The association demanded zero duty on the newsprint imports.
The minister told reporters after the meeting, at his secretariat office, the demand of newspaper owners is being considered, but he did not give any assurance of withdrawing the proposed duty.
Samakal Editor Golam Sarwar, member of the delegation, said it is hoped that the minister will take necessary steps to save the newspaper industry.
On June 6, in the proposed budget placed in the Jatiya Sangsad, the import duty on newsprint for the newspaper industry was increased to 25 percent from the existing 3pc. It was made effective from that day.
Noab told the finance minister that usually, the 25 percent import slab is imposed on finished products and luxury items. But the newsprint imported for newspapers is not a luxury item, and is a raw material for the industry.
As a result of increasing the tax slab for the newsprint, the total tax incidence stands at 61.09 percent, which was mentioned in the budget. This, too, was an unusual decision, the association added.
Besides, the import duty of plates used for printing purpose has been raised to 12 percent from 3 percent.
The Noab told the finance minister that in India and Sri Lanka the import duty on newsprint is 0 percent, in Pakistan it is 5 percent.
The price of imported newsprint has increased by $40 per tonne in the first two quarters of the year. In the third and fourth quarters, it will possibly increase by another $40 per tonne, the delegation added.
Besides, the costs of printing ink, production and transport have increased and, as a result, the newspaper industry has plunged into a serious crisis.
The Noab said it favoured the growth of local newsprint industry and are ready to use local newsprint if its quality is improved. It said the quality of local newsprint is low and ink blots out during high speed printing.
The Noab also said at the time of printing the locally produced newsprint often tears, resulting in increase of waste.
The Noab delegation included News Today Editor Reazuddin Ahmed, Prothom Alo Editor Matiur Rahman, The Daily Star Editor Mahfuz Anam and Dainik Sangbad Editor Altamas Kabir.
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