The government has increased excise duty on high-figure bank deposits in the proposed budget for the 2024-25 financial year.
Finance minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali presented the budget for FY2024-25 in the national parliament on Thursday.
The hike targets only high-income individuals, while low- and middle-income earners will continue to enjoy existing rates.
The proposed budget keeps the excise duty unchanged for deposits up to Tk 10 lakh. Currently, excise duty for bank deposits ranging from Tk 1 lakh to Tk 5 lakh is Tk 150 and for deposits from Tk 5 lakh to Tk 10 lakh is Tk 500, which will remain unchanged.
For deposits above Tk 10 lakh to Tk 1 crore, the excise duty is currently Tk 3,000. However, the proposed budget increases the duty to Tk 5,000 for deposits between Tk 50 lakh and Tk 1 crore.
For deposits between Tk 1 crore and Tk 5 crore, the current excise duty is Tk 15,000. The finance minister has proposed an excise duty of Tk 10,000 for deposits between Tk 1 crore and Tk 2 crore and that of Tk 20,000 for deposits between Tk 2 crore and Tk 5 crore. For bank deposits above Tk 5 crore, the excise duty remains unchanged at Tk 50,000.
The finance minister proposed exemption of excise duty on accounts of 120 depositors or foreign lenders, who park funds in offshore banking units of banks, under the jurisdiction of the Offshore Banking Act, 2024.
This benefit aims to attract foreign currency holders, particularly non-resident Bangladeshis, to make deposits in offshore banking units.
The National Board of Revenue collects excise duties on the principal amount of deposits. Under existing law, this duty applies to all bank deposits, loans and credit cards.
