Lotus duty on potato import, withdrawn on onion

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has reduced the duty on import of potatoes to 15 percent and waived the regulatory duty of 3 percent. At the same time, the existing 5 percent regulatory duty on onion import has been withdrawn.

This tariff benefit for potato-onion will remain in force till November 30. And the import duty on the import of pesticides has been reduced from 25 percent to 5 percent, all types of regulatory duties and VAT have been removed. NBR issued notification in this regard on Thursday (September 5).

According to the notification, due to the student riots in July and August and the ensuing situation, there has been a disruption in the transportation of goods in the country which has not yet fully returned to normalcy. In addition, the ongoing flood situation in the eastern part of the country is disrupting the transportation of goods. Considering the overall context of the situation, the important stakeholders and concerned ministries have requested the National Board of Revenue to take measures to reduce the prices of essential commodities like pesticides, potatoes and onions.

In this situation, the National Board of Revenue has taken the initiative to facilitate the importation of the mentioned products through tax exemptions after comprehensive analysis. Import duty on pesticides has been reduced from 25 percent to 5 percent, all regulatory duties and VAT have been waived.

The existing 25 per cent import duty on potato imports has been reduced to 15 per cent and the applicable 3 per cent regulatory duty has been completely withdrawn. Besides, the 5 percent regulatory duty applicable on onion has been completely withdrawn.

The NBR also said that domestic production of potato and onion meets the bulk of the country's total demand. A lower import duty reduces protection against domestic production. Therefore, to encourage farmers to produce potatoes and onions, the said duty exemption has been enforced till November 30 this year.

As a result of these activities, the National Board of Revenue is optimistic that the market price of the two mentioned products will remain at a sustainable level and the farmers will continue to be encouraged to produce potatoes and onions in the long run. In the future also the National Board of Revenue will equally strive to play a key role in providing policy support for any state needs and providing the necessary revenue for implementing the development activities of the country.

Bangladesh /FM