Leaders of the country鈥檚 apparel and textile sectors on Saturday urged the government to reduce tax at source to 0.50 per cent from existing 1 per cent for the export-oriented sectors and to continue the duty-free import of capital machinery for the investors in economic zones.
At a press briefing on the proposed budget for the financial year 2024-25, the sector leaders said that their proposal for reducing export tax to 0.50 per cent, tax on export retention quota to 10 per cent from 20 per cent and tax waiver in importing fire safety equipment were not entertained in the proposed budget.
Finance minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali placed the proposed budget for the 2024-25 financial year at Jatiya Sangsad in the capital Dhaka on June 6.
The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association and the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association jointly organised the press briefing at the BGMEA complex at Uttara in the capital Dhaka.
BGMEA president SM Mannan Kochi said that apparel and textile sectors were passing through a tough time as global consumption decreased due to inflation and at the same time the prices of products also declined.
鈥楾o maintain our export competitiveness, we submitted several proposals requesting policy support for聽 the sector, but the key proposals were not included in the proposed budget,鈥� Kochi said.
He demanded reducing export tax to 0.50 per cent from existing 1 per cent for the next five years and considering the tax as final settlement for the readymade garment exporters.
The BGMEA president also urged the government to withdraw the proposed 1 per cent tax on import of capital machinery for the companies located in the economic zones.
He said that the tax on capital machinery would discourage investments and it would hamper employment generation.
Kochi urged the government to maintain the current cash incentives for the apparel and textile industry until an alternative incentive programme is introduced.
The BGMEA president requested the government to allocate a special fund in the budget to provide essential commodities at subsidized rates for workers, in order to sustain the vitality of the country鈥檚 manufacturing sector and economy.
He urged the government to reverse its decision to withhold utility connections from factories built outside industrial zones for at least five years, as many factories have already invested hundreds of crores of taka outside the zones.
BTMA president Mohammad Ali Khokon demanded the withdrawal of value-added tax on the collection of textile waste and the supply of recycled fibres, saying that global buyers were imposing conditions requiring 30-40 per cent recycled fibres in finished products.
BKMEA executive president Mohammad Hatem said that if the proposals made by the RMG and textile sectors were not addressed in the budget, the industry would face an acute crisis.
He also called for a mechanism to adjust advance income tax and said that it was unacceptable to collect income tax from companies that did not make any profits.
BGMEA first vice-president Syed Nazrul Islam, senior vice-president Khandoker Rafiqul Islam and vice-president Abdullah Hil Rakib, among others, were present in the briefing.