Government to slash VAT, taxes on essential commodities during Ramadan

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal on Sunday said the government decided to reduce or withdraw VAT (value added tax) and taxes to keep the prices of some daily commodities, including edible oil, at a tolerable level ahead of Ramadan.

"We will announce soon steps on reducing taxes and VAT if necessary and how much on edible oil or sugar or anything else if it is levied on daily commodities," said the minister at an inter-ministerial meeting held at the Cabinet Division at the Secretariat.

However, he did not specify which products will be included in this action.

Briefing reporters after the meeting, Asaduzzaman said, "You know the price of edible oil is rising all over the world. We see prices rising every day which is affecting our country."

"The prices of other commodities can also go up during Ramadan, so we sat down with that in mind," the minister added.

He said, "We are also making arrangements to import electricity keeping in mind the increasing demand during Ramadan."

He further said the supply of diesel and gas may be reduced. "We are taking necessary steps to keep these in order so that there are no shortages of electricity and people do not suffer during Ramadan," he assured.

"We will encourage everyone to import the essentials to keep the market stable."

However, the supply of wheat may be another problem as it is imported from Ukraine-Russia, said the minister.

"We will continue our efforts to keep the rice and wheat market stable."

The Cabinet Division sat in a meeting with several ministries on Sunday to decide ways to control commodity prices ahead of Ramadan.

Apart from the home minister, Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi, Agriculture Minister Md Abdur Razzaque, State Minister for Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid, Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam,Inspector General of Police (IGP) Benazir Ahmed and other top officials attended the meeting.

On the other hand, Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi said the government will form a taskforce in a day or two to check price hike.