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The Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission has recommended lowering the customs duty and advance taxes on dates to help stabilise prices ahead of Ramadan.
The commission suggested reducing the import duty on dates from 25 per cent to 15 per cent and cutting the advance income tax from 10 per cent to 3 per cent in a report issued on Sunday.
It also proposed a full waiver of the 5 per cent advance tax on imported dates until Mar 31, 2025 reports bdnews24.com.
Mokitul Hasan, second secretary (customs policy) of the National Board of Revenue (NBR), said that the regulator is reviewing the recommendations.
“We have prepared a summary of our analysis of the proposals, which has been approved. The government may announce a policy decision soon.”
Currently, importing dates carries a total tax burden of 63.60 per cent, comprising a 25 per cent import duty, 15 per cent value-added tax (VAT), 10 per cent advance income tax, 3 per cent regulatory duty, and 5 per cent advance tax.
The report highlighted the need for tax reductions, noting that the 10 per cent advance income tax puts an additional financial strain on importers since it cannot easily be adjusted at the import stage.
Due to the limited value addition after import, the advance income tax coupled with the 5 per cent tax drive up business costs and cause an abnormal increase in the price of dates in the market.