Muhammad Ayub Ali :
The Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission has recommended reducing the customs duties imposed on fresh fruits including apples, oranges, grapes, pears, and pineapples.
The organisation believes that the price of imported fresh fruits has increased due to the increasing dollar rate and the imposed customs duties, which has created unbearable pressure on the consumer.
Recently, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) increased the supplementary duty on fresh fruit imports from 20 to 30 percent.
Now, the Tariff Commission has proposed to restore it to its previous level.
In addition, the organisation has also recommended reducing the advance tax on fresh fruit imports from 10 percent to 2 percent and rationalizing the 20 percent regulatory duty.
The Tariff Commission sent a letter to National Board of Revenue (NBR) Chairman Abdur Rahman Khan in this regard last Monday. A copy of the letter has also been sent to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Commerce.
In the letter, the Tariff Commission said that the import of fresh fruits has decreased due to the increase in the value of the dollar and customs duties.
Md Serajul Islam, president of the Bangladesh Fresh Fruits Importers Association said to The New Nation that recently we had a meeting with the Tariff Commission, FBCCI, and finance ministry and presented a demand to reduce supplementary duty on fresh fruits import.
However, the concerned bodies sent the letter to the NBR which they think is rational.
We have been passing very unpleasant situations due to increasing supplementary duty on fresh fruits, people are not interested in buying fruits after mitigating their compulsory issues through ongoing inflation he added.
In the 2023-24 fiscal year, apple imports decreased by 51 percent, malt by 70 percent, and grapes by 29 percent compared to the previous fiscal year.
On the other hand, due to the increase in supplementary duty, the import of mandarins decreased by 51 percent, grapes by 21 percent, apples by 3.5 percent, pears by 45 percent, and pomegranates and dragon fruits by 32 percent in January compared to the same period of the previous year.
Currently, if a fruit worth TK 86 is imported, a tax of Tk 120 is paid, the Tariff Commission said.
When asked about the Tariff Commission’s recommendation to reduce customs duties, an NBR official said on condition of anonymity that the organization’s proposal is being considered.
According to the NBR, around 300 million US dollars were spent on importing foreign fruits in the fiscal year 2023-24.
If the exchange rate per dollar is Tk 117, the amount in Bangladeshi currency is about Tk 3.5 billion. Including freight and insurance, this cost increased to Tk 4,664 billion. The government has collected revenue of Tk 5,139 crore from fruit imports.
