Post-budget reactions: Apparel makers want 0.5pc source tax
BGMEA president terms budget ‘frustrating’
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Leaders of the country’s textile and apparel sector on Saturday urged the government to reconsider some of their major concerns which according to them are not reflected in the proposed budget including the reduction of source tax and continuation of the cash incentive.
They also urged the government to withdraw 1.0 per cent duty on the import of capital machinery and construction materials by factories located in the economic zone.
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), and Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) leaders made the pleas at a post-budget joint press conference held at the BGMEA office in Uttara.
Garment exporters had requested a reduction in the source tax from the current 1.0 per cent to 0.5 per cent. However, the government did not address this in the budget proposal.
“We expected that there were some policy supports for the country’s readymade garment industry especially reducing source tax to 0.50 per cent and consider it as final settlement, among others,” BGMEA president SM Mannan Kochi said.
He claimed that their demands are not reflected in the budget which he termed ‘frustrating’.