Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Wednesday said the government has introduced updated duty incentives on the import of raw materials required for the local manufacturing and assembly of internationally standard digital devices.
The prime minister disclosed the information in parliament while responding to a question from Sultana Ahmed, a reserved-seat lawmaker.
He said the incentives cover the production and assembly of a wide range of technology products, including desktop computers, laptops, all-in-one PCs, notebooks, notepads, tablets, servers, printers, scanners, routers, network devices, monitors, digital watches and mobile phones.
Under the new incentives, imports of raw materials used in manufacturing these products will be subject to only an additional 1 percent customs duty, while all supplementary duty, regulatory duty and value-added tax (VAT) have been fully waived, he said.
For raw materials imported for the assembly of these products, the government has allowed an additional customs duty of 5 percent, while exempting all supplementary duty, regulatory duty and VAT, the prime minister added.
Tarique Rahman expressed hope that the timely policy measures would accelerate the growth of the country’s information and communication technology (ICT) industry and further strengthen the “Made in Bangladesh” brand in global markets. He also said the incentives would play a significant role in attracting foreign investment into the sector.
Highlighting the broader impact of the initiative, the prime minister said the duty concessions would make a wide range of technology products more affordable in the domestic market. He added that the move would create unprecedented employment opportunities for the country’s large youth population across sectors such as education, startups, freelancing, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
